Angela’s Passion - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Angela. She was 9 years old. She loved the Lord and took her relationship with God seriously.

She had parents that loved her and taught her the value of reading really early so Angela was always enjoying a book or doing something else that was productive or meaningful. Her good habit had made her excel in school big time. Every teacher loved her.   However, right now there was something heavy on Angela’s heart. She had noticed that a lot of the kids in her neighborhood didn’t have the privilege of having parents that emphasized the importance of reading to their kids. They probably didn’t know the value themselves.

Angela knew that these other kids in her neighborhood didn’t have a chance in life even though they thought they did. At best when they grow up they would suffer and get by, but most certainly they would never become great. For no one has ever become great who didn’t hold knowledge in high esteem.

Angela would think about it all night as she lay down to sleep at night. Throughout the day she would think about it too as she worried for their sakes. They didn’t know the danger they were in.

Angela wisely decided to bring the matter to her parents.

They listened intensely.

When Angela finished speaking they told her that it was a good thing that she was so concerned about others welfare. They told her that they were so proud of her.

As for what she should do, they told her to pray for God to give her direction on what to do but she should also pray about the kids in her neighborhood that she is concerned about.

Angela prayed for the kids day after day and for some reason her burden to help kids who don’t know the value of reading kept on growing and growing and growing. Now she no longer only had a burden to reach the kids in her neighborhood alone but a burden to reach every single kid in the world.

In the mist of this Angela never stopped reading she was just as in love with reading as her parents are.

God answered Angela’s prayer by leading her to read a book about marketing success stories and while reading  God gave her the idea that she needed to start a website that could start a movement that would inspire kids all around the world to read.

Suddenly, a name for the website came to mind. It was perfect.

Angela told her parents about the idea. After a long discussion, her parents told her that if she learnt how to build a website herself they would pay for the web hosting of the site. They were expecting her to only learn how to use a free web page building software, but Angela went as far as reading up on html, CSS and a little bit of Javascript.

Angela had problems with understanding javascript and just couldn’t fully get her head around it but still she knew more than what those who have jobs building websites for IT (Information Technology) companies know.  

Other ideas started coming to Angela.

There was the idea of starting her own reading group for the kids in the neighborhood that would have meetings in a tree house a friend had. 

There was the idea of staging a march down the neighborhood to protest against ignorance and not reading.

There was the idea about printing cards to sent to every parent in the neighborhood.

Idea after idea just seemed to flow through Angela’s brain. She was happy about it. She was stirred up with enthusiasm.

Angela set out to do all that had to be done but after two weeks she found out that she hadn’t completed one single goal. The funny thing was that she was always working on it. Why then did she have nothing to show for it?

Angela worker harder and harder but still she still had nothing to show for it. She was till getting more ideas on what to do everyday and was always doing this and doing that and suspending doing this to start that and so on and so forth.

So far, if this keeps up Angela could have a break down. However, she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop trying to help these kids. Her honorable passion had put her in a dangerous spot and she knew it. She felt like she stood unsteadily on a narrow wall with success on  the ground in front of her and a  nervous break down on the ground behind her. The thing is, she felt more like she was going to fall backwards than forward. This sadly made matters worse because it just added stress to her previous list of problems.

One day, Angela sat all alone in her room crying. She was hurting because of it.

In the mist of her tears Angela heard the Holy Spirit speak. He told her to meet her Mum.

Angela obeyed. She went to her Mum and told her everything.

Her Mum hugged and kissed her and told her that she has a heart of gold for caring so much about other. Then she told her that concerning why she hadn’t accomplished any goal yet; it is because she didn’t have a written plan with a sequence of steps to follow faithfully. She had not accomplished any goal because she had been putting off almost finished goals for new ones and often going back and forth within goals.

Having no plan to see the big picture of all that she was doing, she might as well have moving around in circles and not moving forward.

Angela did as her Mum had said. She created a written plan of a sequence of steps she would follow to achieve success.

Now, 2 weeks after the conversation with her Mum, Angela is the leader of an online and offline revolution to get kids to love and value the beauty of reading.

THE END.