Story:
Footsteps
“‘Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me,’” Chase repeated the scripture they had memorized in Primary.
Chase followed the imaginary footsteps down the sidewalk. “One, two, three, four…” he counted.
“What would it be like to really walk in Jesus’ footsteps?” he thought. “Would I be willing to give up everything?” he wondered, wincing at the thought of giving up his new bike. “How, could I give it up? I had to mow twenty-five lawns to earn enough money to buy it!”
***
On Saturday, Chase had appointments to mow three more lawns.
“Chase,” Mother said, “I’m really proud of you. You’ve become a good little business man. But don’t forget our deal! You still need to do your regular chores.”
“But, Mom,” Chase complained, “By the time I get done mowing lawns the day will be shot and I won’t have any time to play!”
“You could give one of your mowing jobs to Kenny,” Mother reasoned. “He could use the extra money and that would give you an extra hour of free time. By the way, it’s your turn to mow our lawn.”
Chase thought about his friend Kenny. His dad was out of work and the family was barely getting by. Kenny had even sold his bike so his dad could buy a new suit to wear for job interviews. “Kenny could use the money,” he thought, “But, I worked hard to build up a clientele. Why should I give one of my customers to Kenny?”
“Kenny already has a job delivering papers,” Chase reasoned. “I’ll mow our lawn after I’m done with all the others.”
Mother looked at Chase and smiled. “It was just a thought,” she said.
Chase rushed out to the shed for the lawn mower. “I think if I mow Mr. Brown’s lawn first, then the Jensen’s and then ours before mowing Bradley’s, it’ll save time,” he planned. “I might get some time to play after all.”
On his way to the Browns, Chase passed Kenny walking along his route with the heavy newspaper bags draped across his shoulders.
“Kenny’ll be too tired to mow a lawn anyway,” he tried to convince himself.
After all four lawns were mowed, Chase turned on the hose and let the cool water wash across his face before walking over to Kenny’s house to see if he could play.
“One, two, three, four,” Chase was counting his steps when he heard, “Come, follow me.”
Startled, he turned, but there was no one there.
Then Sister Hall’s words, “What would Jesus do?” echoed through his mind.
“What would Jesus do?” Chase asked himself. Chase quickly turned and headed for home.
***
“Mom. Dad,” Chase called.
“We’re in the kitchen, Son,” Father answered.
Chase hurried into the kitchen. “I’m going to follow Jesus,” he said before catching his breath. “Like Kenny is!”
Father and Mother looked puzzled.
“My bike. I’m going to give my bike to Kenny. He needs it more than I do!”
by Margie Nauta Lee