Slow Poppers

Marley ran to the door as soon as she heard her mother come in. "Mom! That movie we put on hold at the library finally came in. Can we watch it tonight?" "Sure," said Mom. "But let's have dinner first." They whipped up some spaghetti and meatballs and sat down to eat. "Marley, I want you to start going over to the nursing home a couple times a week to read to Grandma," said Mom. "I wish I could get over there more, but work is just too busy right now. I'll give you the Bible I've been reading to her so you can take over." Marley scowled. "The Bible? But she's not even a Christian! And she's really old. How could reading the Bible to her make any difference now?" "Just because she's old doesn't mean it's too late for her to come to Jesus," said Mom. "We can't give up on her. When I asked if I could start reading the Bible to her, she said yes, so I'm hopeful that means God is working to bring her to Him." Once they cleared the table, Mom got out a big pan and put it on the stove. "How about some popcorn to go with our movie?" Marley nodded eagerly and watched as Mom heated oil in the pan and added popcorn kernels. Pretty soon the kitchen was full of pops and cracks as the popcorn billowed up in the pan. "I think it's done," said Marley after a long string of popping noises came to an end. "Not quite," said Mom. She waited another minute before turning off the heat, allowing more kernels to pop. "Some kernels pop right away, but others take longer before they're ready. You don't want to give up on them too quickly." She looked at Marley. "Just like Grandma. The Bible tells us that no matter how young or old someone is, they become a new person when they trust in Jesus, just like these hard little kernels become soft, delicious popcorn. We need to do all we can to share the good news of Jesus with Grandma because she may not have much time left." Marley nodded. "Okay, I'll go read to her. And I'll pray that hearing God's Word will help her realize how much Jesus loves her." -Courtney Lasater