But The 8.00 am Service Doesn’t Really Begin Until 8.30 am - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

   Once upon a time there lived two 13 year old brothers. One’s name was Danny and the other one’s name was Tommy. They were both Christians and were blessed with two lovely parents who loved them dearly and had taken them to church from day one so they won’t be lacking in the knowledge of the Truth is God’s word.

   Danny and Tommy each which wanted a new portable hand held touch screen device more than anything. With it they could use all sorts of important apps, listen to CBN Radio, chat with their friends on yookos.com, and also download and play a lot of sweet positive games that wouldn’t clog their minds with violence but is just 100% clean gaming fun.

   The two brothers had tried to get their parents to buy the device for them but their Dad told them to ask their Mum and their Mum told them to go do their homework anytime they brought the topic up. Even after they finished their homework whenever they asked their Mum she would tell them to go read a book.

 On some other occasions, asking her to buy them the device would make her give them some shores around the house to do.   So I guess you can understand why the boys gave up on trying to get their Mum and Dad to buy them the device. Now all they could do is pray and pray and pray for it.

   Normally, they all went to church together as a family but one Sunday the kids were to go alone. Their Dad was out of the country on a business trip and he was to come back on Monday (the next day), while their Mum left very early that morning after cooking breakfast making sure that the boys were on schedule to getting to church early. She was in a hurry, she had to travel to another city to visit her sick and hospitalized sister who had begged to see her.

   After Mum left and the boys had prepared and eaten and it was time to step out the door and walk to the church which was a stone throw away from their house, Tommy sat down and put on the Television.

   Danny was shocked. He asked Tommy what he taught he was doing.

   Tommy told Danny to relax that it is not as if he doesn’t plan on going to church. It’s just that the 8.00 am service doesn’t really begin until 8.30 am. So he would kill time watching TV before he gets up to go to church. If he goes now all he would meet is the praise and worship time and the testimony time but what he plans to do to come right before the Pastor steps on stage to deliver the message.

   Danny tried to convince his brother of the importance of punctuality but Tommy wouldn’t budge. Danny soon realized that if he stayed there trying to talk some sense into his brother he would be late himself so he leaves his brother there watching Sunday morning cartoons.

   God had been listening to the prayers of the brothers. Their asking for the portable hand held touch screen device hadn’t gone un-noticed in heaven.

   That Sunday, God sent angels to deliver blessings to them to where they were supposed to be and not where they were. The blessing was a spiritual blessing that would make it possible for them to get the device they wanted in the physical. Kinda like how Isaac in the bible blessed his son Jacob by speaking words of blessing over him without giving him any physical thing, yet that blessing is what was responsible for the many physical and material possessions that he later had in life.

   The two angels that God sent to bless the two brothers arrive as the service starts in order to give them their blessings but only Danny is there. God had decided to give them their own blessings during the opening prayer but since only Danny was there during the opening prayer of the service, only Danny got his blessing.

   Danny did not see or feel the angels blessing him. But he was blessed any how.

   Tommy later showed up in church right before the Pastor mounted the pulpit to start preaching. By then the angels who came specifically for him and his brother had gone. None of the two brothers had known the angels had come but only one of them was going to reap the fruits of their coming.

   Days later Danny had gotten the device he wanted as a gift from one of his Mum’s sisters who visited. She had gotten Danny the new portable hand held touch screen device and had gotten Tommy a pair of sneakers and a basketball. Tommy thanked his aunt just like Danny did but he wished he had gotten Danny’s gift instead.

   After their aunt left, their Mum wanted to take the device away from the Danny but God gave Danny wisdom to know what his Mum was really afraid of, so Danny told his Mum that he was going to install an app that would block out all inappropriate websites and he promises to use his device to read a minimum of 15 pages of a book everyday.

   On hearing his, Mum smiled and her fears went away. She now let him keep the device.

   Tommy kept on praying and praying for his device but he soon got tired of waiting for his miracle as it where.

   Tommy looked up to the heavens and said, “You love my brother more than me. It’s not fair.”Oh! What a pity. If only Tommy knew that he was only reaping what he sowed.

THE END.