She bowed her head solemnly, and looked at the
floor. Her heart ached with a pain not recognized behind
the fake smiles and laughter. She squirmed in her seat, 
and wrung her hands in worry and depression. Where is 
the light she was promised? She’s always been told of 
the Father...who loved her very much. She didn’t want to
believe it, even though deep in her heart she knew it 
was true. She sat silently, and listened to the 
conversation around her, seeing the hurt people, hurt by
her actions. How could she show she was sorry? The tears
were no longer enough, and who should believe her anymore
anyway? She lied, and stole...and was a basically bad 
person, or so she thought. The night ended, and she slept,
tossing and turning all night, until she said a simple 
little prayer in her head, from her heart.

   "Father, I can’t do this anymore, I need your help."

	This was the first time she humbled herself in a
long time...if ever. She fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next day would change her outlook on life. She got
up to do a simple little house chore, and looked through
her parent’s CD’s. One caught her eye, and she took it 
from the shelf, and flipped it in her hands. With a 
shrug, she popped it into the CD player and began the 
chore, and danced to this music. Little did she realize,
that as she sang, the weight of her world seemed to lift
right off her shoulders, little by little, and she 
stopped her chore, and danced all around the house, not
caring who saw her through the windows.

	 The dance she once did, was an expression of 
her soul. She once danced with pain, and misery, with 
slow and almost tired-like movements, she’d never danced
this light. Now she can’t wait for her parents to come 
home so she can share the news with them...they’ll be so
happy for her, and as she waits, tears come to her eyes,
as she writes this story, that girl is me...

Trych Cook
1998

*This story came straight from my heart, and I hope it 
can move you to feel the same way I do. I’ve done many 
things in my life I’m not too proud about, as you can 
well imagine. I have a hard time forgiving people who 
have hurt me, and I always seem to hurt them back. I’m 
not perfect...no-one is accept our Father in Heaven. It’s
up to Him to change us, we shouldn’t think that we have
to clean up our act before we approach Him, instead, we
should come to Him in our weakest moments.*

(1 Corinthians 2:3) "I came to you in weakness and fear,
                     and with much trembling."

*He is there to help us in our weakest moments, and to
lift us out of our brokeness. He loves us that much! I 
was always worried to praise God in front of others, 
even in the church, and now I can’t wait to go to my 
house group to show everyone my heart sings for the 
Almighty! Where there was once a broken, frighten child,
will be replaced with a strong woman of God. This is my
time, and I know it, and so does God. I can just see Him,
up in heaven...smiling down at me, His loving eyes, His
radiant warmth, embracing me. He took away the blinders
that satan had put over my eyes.

	No-one wants to be depressed all the time....and
now I know this is true. I used to have such heaviness 
put upon me by the enemy, and I felt I deserved to go to
hell, that I was no good, and I didn’t want anything from
anybody, because I didn’t want to be dependent. I was 
into all sorts of evil things, because I decided to go
to hell. A friend of mine, (I didn’t know him too well),
died not too long ago, and I was upset by it.

	Someone told me that maybe it was God showing me
that death can come at any time, to anyone. I guess I 
felt immortal in a way...until that was pointed out to 
me. It stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks, and 
processed new ones. Did I really want to go to hell? 
No...I was just rebelling against anything good, and all
that did was bring me down into the darkest pit of my own
fury and hate. I was stuck in that place because I hung 
on to a past that I should’ve let God take care of. 
Jesus already took it with Him on the cross, it’s no 
longer mine. I forgive everyone who has done wrongs to
me, and I hope they forgive me too. 

	Anyway, these are just some thoughts, and shared
feelings. I only hope that this can help you with a few 
things in your life, it has mine...or should I say He has.
Only God can change me, and I plan to let Him lead me in
the life He has planned for me. I hope to find many joys
and His works in my future. I’m no longer missing...for 
I am the prodigal daughter.*