Andy's Gift "Chapter 2"

Andy’s Gift

The next few days were just about more than Andy’s dad could handle. The
memories would haunt him. The times he had hit Andy would not leave his head.
It was three days after the funeral and he was so bad that mom went after
Brother Reynolds.

She was in tears when she found him. She begged him, “Please come home
with me and talk to him. He cannot forgive himself. He's afraid Andy died
thinking he
was not loved. I’ve told him, 'That’s not true, my love. He worried
about you and loved you very much. I heard him talk to his friend, Jesus, and
ask if He would help. He said, Please don’t be mad at my daddy, it's not
his fault he hits me. I wasted my food the last time. I was just worried about
my little kitty.' I'm so afraid this will end up killing him. Please come home
with me and talk to him.”

Brother Reynolds had his coat on before she finished. They were out the door
and soon they were home. Quietly, they entered the house, and mom saw the most beautiful sight she had seen in months. It was dad on his knees in prayer. They stopped so as not to disturb him. Andy’s little kitty was at his feet,
lapping up a piece of biscuit soaked in precious drops of milk.

As the tears dripped off his cheeks, he prayed this prayer: “Father in
Heaven, please forgive me for the way I have acted these last few months. Not
only have I forced you to take Andy, I have hurt mom so badly. Please see that
Andy knows I love him very much. Tell him I am giving 1/4th of my food to his
little kitty and 1/4th to mom. If you'll give me the strength to go on, they'll
get it all. Please don’t let mom find out I eat one biscuit and drink one
glass of milk a week. It would kill her if she found out. I forced you to take
Andy, but I will not make that mistake with her.

"Father, take me and use me in any way you wish. Just point me in the right
direction and I will go. I know Andy is with his best friend, face-to-face now,
and happy he must be. Help mom go on----“ then the words wouldn’t
come out anymore. He bowed his head and wept.

Mom and Brother Reynolds quietly knelt beside him, each with a hand on his
shoulder to comfort him. Then like many times before, the room lit up with a
warm and soft glow. An angel didn’t appear, nor did he speak. It was
Andy. He said, “Dad, I love you. Mom, Brother Reynolds, I love you too.
Guess who is beside me? It’s my friend, Jesus. Mom, all the things you
told me about Jesus when I couldn’t understand...well, they are true up
here too. Dad, Jesus’ dad is just as cool as you are. He wants us all to
call him Father. You will understand when you get here. I wish you could see
the mountains of gold and the rivers that run so clear. Oh, how I wish you were
here. I wish you could see my mansion. I can’t even start to explain how
beautiful it is. They are building two next to mine now.”

Andy’s ask, “Jesus, may I tell them?”

They heard another voice say, “Yes of course, son. You tell them for
me.”

"Mom, Dad, it is your mansion, but you will have to wait just awhile more.
It’s not even close to being ready yet. Brother Reynolds, yours is across
the street, a
street of pure gold. You don’t have to worry, I won’t get run over
up here. Angels travel these streets.

"Oh, guess what Brother Reynolds? There is a mansion on the other side of me. I
asked Jesus one day if we might save that one for you. Do you know what He
said? He said that’s mine, Andy. I live next door to you. Mom, you will
never guess who else checks on me every day. It's Mary, Mom, Jesus’ mom.
She is just like all moms.” Then in a whisper, Andy said, “She
fusses at Jesus and tells him he works too hard. You would never guess what
Jesus says. He says, 'Yes, Mom.'

"Oh! Mom, our old bible that had all the pages missing? Don’t worry about
that anymore. Jesus read the whole bible to me. You remember how it talks about
how kind Jesus is? Well, He is twice that in person. I have to go now. Jesus
wants to talk to you. Remember how much I love you, Dad and Mom and Brother
Reynolds. If you will talk to Jesus every day, he will tell me how you are
doing. I am going now; do you know what I am going to do today? I am going
fishing with Peter, James and Paul. I have to figure out some way to tell them
you fish with a pole and not a big net. I love you all. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.
Bye, Brother Reynolds. Bye, Jesus. We will have fish for supper.”

Then by the grace of God, they all heard Jesus speak in the most gentle and
loving voice they had ever heard. He started by saying, “Dad, I
didn’t take Andy to punish you. I let you borrow Andy for ten of your
years, and then I needed him back. Sure you made a few mistakes, but look at
all the good you taught him. For your reward, I will personally tell you two
things that will affect the rest of
your life.

"First thing, Brother Reynolds go to your church and find the spot where Andy
knelt each day. I know you know the spot because time after time, you were
beside him. There is a loose board in that altar. You will find a little box
there. Andy put it there. Inside it, you will find a lump of gold. That is
among one of three. It is the most valuable gold on earth. Its value will shock
you. Its worth over one million of your dollars. That used to be a lump
of coal. Andy put there for you when the weather got cold and you needed heat.
He carried it over one mile. I give that to you to do as you see fit.

"Mom, Dad, I saved the best part for last. I know after Andy’s accident,
you saved his clothes and old worn-out shoes. You did that because it was the
last thing he
touched. Pull the heels off each of those shoes. Put them in front of you. Bow
your head and thank the Father for all he has given you. When you open your
eyes, the heels will be pieces of the same gold Brother Reynolds has. Its value

will be the same. All of you are now millionaires. Use it wisely and never
forget how you came by it.

"Now last of all, Andy made me a Christmas gift. That gift is priceless to me.
I have it in my possession always. I want you to pick up Andy’s left
shoe. Brother Reynolds, do you remember the day Andy showed me his worn-out
shoe with the sole coming off? He said that day, 'OOPS! I almost told you what
it was.' Andy didn’t realize I watched him work on that gift for hours
upon end. If you will look at his shoe, you will see where he cut out a small
heart when that sole loosened up. This let in even more water and cold against
his foot. Mom, Dad, you didn’t know the sole was coming off his shoe. He
was afraid you would make him stay home, and he just had to talk to me. He was
too young to understand I was with him always. He just felt better if he was at
my house.

"When Andy had the heart carved out perfect, he broke it in two. That broke my
heart when I saw him do that. He worked on it for weeks and weeks. When he was
satisfied, he punched a small hole in each piece. Andy had one more talent no
one knew of. He could take small threads and weave them with his bare hands
into a braided chain. The chain was stronger than if it had been made of steel.
He got the threads from the tails of his shirt when they wore out. Mom, he was
afraid to tell you he was cutting them off his shirt. That is why he had taken
them to school that day. His little fingers were raw from working on them
chains. He took a nail and punched Jesus in one and Andy in the other. He just
couldn’t tie them; his fingers were so sore. In the ambulance that day, I
tied them for him. I wear my at all times and he wears his. One day we were
sitting together talking and Peter noticed them. He looked at them for a
minute, then he took mine and put it against Andy’s. It read Jesus and
Andy 'Friends.'”

Jesus told them good-bye that day and said, “Never forget, I am only a
prayer away from you.

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