By Gloria Pierre Dean
ESSIE’S LESSON
L
ittle Essie is the church’s
favourite child, I think.”
She is the Pastor’s
granddaughter, and everyone
smiles at her but not for that
reason. It is not because she is
exceptionally pretty either. In
my opinion, her long curly hair
and freckles seem to endear her
to us older women who have
grandchildren.
She has a happy demeanor, runs
everywhere and is always busy
doing something. There are other
beautiful children, but they are
less engaging. Maybe I am biased.
She shocked me one day when
she walked in with her mother
and had tears flowing down her
face.
All greetings were met with
silence. She would not greet
anyone.
“Essie,” I asked, “what is wrong?”
Her mother shook her head and
shrugged her shoulder saying
“She won’t tell me either.”
The young children went into the
DOZ Magazine | November 2018
back room for their classes, and
I forgot about her as the service
proceeded.
Halfway through the service, I felt
a tug on my arm. I turned to see
Essie. In the back room doorway,
her Sunday School teacher
beckoned to me.
I quietly got up and went back
with her.
“Essie wants to say something to
you,” she said quietly.
As I sat down beside her, she
produced a pen out of her pocket.
It was my pen that I had lost
weeks ago.
“The lesson today was on the Ten
Commandments,” said Anna, the
teacher.
“Thou shalt not steal” is our
topic. She is shaken up a bit to
hear that God specifically wrote
these words”{Exodus 20:15}.
Essie turned to me and between
sobs said, “I found it on the floor
near where you sit. I should have
returned it to Grandpa, but I did
not.”
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I freely admitted that it was
a pretty pen and must have
attracted her. “Essie, I forgive
you,” I said as I hugged her. “You
have been an honest girl, and you
must forgive yourself. You did the
right thing by returning it.”
I add with alacrity “ Will you do
me a huge favour?”
“Yes,” she said with her old smile.
So I say to her “Please keep the
pen. It is my gift to you for being
honest. Keep it in your bag and
tell Mum when you get home.” I
continued quietly “Please learn
from this, Essie and do not ever
take anything that is not yours. I
love you, Dear.”
The lesson from this must be; do
any one of us ever feel tempted to
take something that is not ours?
Well, as a child I was, but the dread
of my strict father and God’s Words
in my spirit stopped me.
So, in conclusion, we do not
condemn or cast stones at Essie
because as Jesus said: “If anyone
has no sin, cast the first stone!”
{John 8:7}