by

Ruth Willerth

© 2003

Yard Sale season had begun. It was the beginning of summer and it promised to be a beautiful one too. I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible.

I had just been given new curtains for my apartment. I liked the way the sunlight glistened through them after I hung them in my window, but what to do with my old ones?

I sat on the porch contemplating my curtains when my next door neighbors came home.

"Could you use some new curtains?" I asked.

They politely declined my offer and started walking toward their apartment. Suddenly the couple stopped. The guy turned around and started yelling at me that they hated Christians.

I did not respond but went into my apartment. That was weird. They had both seemed like nice people since they moved in last winter. How did he know I was a Christian? I don't have a bumper sticker on my car, or a cross on my rear view mirror, or around my neck, or printed on any of my t-shirts. The subject had never been discussed.

For the next week, every time I came outside the guy yelled about me being a Christian until I went inside. He knew every thought I was thinking, even the ones I had when I went to my Mom's house for the weekend. Mom lived thirty miles away from me.

I did not appreciate sharing my thoughts and prayers with the whole neighborhood. He stood in the parking lot screaming them every time I went outside my apartment. Every day I felt a little more terrified. I had not spoken a word to him since the day he had started screaming about me being a Christian.

Careful, I thought, I don't know why you're doing this but you are succeeding at converting your girl friend.

"I'm not going to convert my girl friend," he sneered.

If you keep this up you will. I thought.

"The way I'm acting isn't going to convert you into Christianity is it?" He turned to face his girl friend.

"I don't know--" she started. "No I guess not, but I wish you'd stop doing what you're doing. She never did anything to you. She has yet to say anything back. I wish you'd stop! What's wrong with you?"

"See!" he retorted, "I'm not going to convert my girl friend."

It was almost Friday again. I could retreat to my Mom's house for some sanity. He might know all of my thoughts but at least I'd be free from his ranting until Monday.

"Stop already." his girl friend pleaded. "You're scaring me and you're scaring all our friends."

"I hate Christians!" he yelled.

Why? I wondered.

"Because by all rights you belong to me."

God owns me.

"No--"

Uh huh! My thoughts interrupted him. Because Jesus made a deal with God. Right?

"That's why we hate Christians!" He stormed. "It isn't fair. You deserve to be mine."

I never want to belong to you. God owns me.

"Where is God?

He is within me and all around me.

"Oh, and you know that?" my neighbor bellowed.

Yes.

"Where is he? Why isn't he protecting you? I don't see God and I don't see an angel guarding you either! Why hasn't he sent an angel to protect you?"

No, God has not sent an angel. God knows about this and even then I still told God all about you. If God thought I needed an angel, He would have sent one. God seems to think I can handle this one by myself.

"You're going to fight me human?"

Yes, but I don't know how to. Ordering him leave in Jesus' name had not worked. I had tried that a couple of days ago. I tried to visualize me taking on a powerful demon but could not. I can't imagine pitiful little me fighting a demon.

"Yes. You are a small pitiful human," my neighbor agreed. "You are no match for me. Go ahead and try." He laughed.

Perhaps I could trick him. I tried and he laughed at me.

"Deceit! Treachery! Only a human could think you can defeat evil with deceit." He was still laughing. "I'm sorry. I'm use to fighting with angels. You were right. You are no match for me."

Mom and my friends suggested maybe it was time to move to a new apartment. Demons had no claim on me because I believed in Jesus and belonged to God. God would not ditch me. Fighting anybody was an idea that was strongly discouraged.

How do angels fight? I wondered. In Petree's books they fought with conventional human methods--swords, and a army. In my stage play they set a trap. How did angels really fight?

I decided to try asking someone else. Explaining this alive in person to someone you only work with was much harder than I thought it would be.

"I'm having trouble with my neighbors. They are usually nice people but for the last couple of weeks... It all started with offering them my old curtains. No, I didn't try to force the curtains on them. I was just being friendly. I think he is trying to convert me." I stammered and shook my head. "People have got to stop doing that. Thank you! That's the answer. He's trying to convert me."

I thanked God on the way back to my apartment for having such a caring neighbor. I felt like everything was going to be all right again.

Monday morning I thanked God again for having such a nice neighbor that he would spend so much time trying to convert me.

I opened the door. It was another beautiful day. My neighbor was about to get into his car when I stopped him.

Hi, I wanted to thank you.

"What?" He turned and faced me. "Thank me? What for?"

For converting me to Jesus Christ.

"Converting you?" He looked startled. "I didn't know. I thought you already believed in Jesus Christ."

Yes, I believed in Jesus before but now I have conviction. Thank you. Don't worry I already told God what a good job you did for you.

"You only made that up because you lacked the courage to explain--"

It doesn't matter how I came up with it. What does matter is that I know it's true.

"No it does not matter how you end up believing whatever it is you believe," he agreed sadly. "It only matters what you believe."

I nodded and smiled. So I want to thank you for giving me a conviction about Jesus Christ that I never had before. You must be an angel after all. I already told God what wonderful work you're doing for him. Don't worry everything will work out OK.

"You have it all wrong! Leave it to a human..." His tone had definitely changed from the last two weeks. "I really had no intention of doing anything of the kind." Instead of being harsh and loud it was soft and compelling. He smiled as he continued to apologize and deny his service to God and to me as I went back into my apartment. "I shouldn't have told you to fight like an angel." He grimaced as I close the door.

The next day, my neighbor ran up to me and apologized for his behavior during last couple of weeks. I almost jumped a mile, but verbally accepted his apology.

And the story ended as suddenly as it began. We lived in peace for the next year and half until I moved into a new town for the usual reasons one moves.

Is it natural for a person to suddenly become an extremely strong telepath? Was that a demon? I don't know. He had me convinced at the time...

No one in the area knew me well enough to determine whether or not I was a Christian. I had not uttered a word to my neighbors nor had I talked with anyone who lived anywhere close. A week later his friends found out I was not mute when I verbally verified to them that he had apologized.

My belief in Jesus Christ was strengthened from a mere belief to a conviction. So was that the work of an angel? Would an angel stoop to deceit? My neighbor seemed to have thought otherwise.

I am certain that:

Any form of deceit can not be used to defeat evil.

A strong conviction in Jesus Christ was the key to victory.

I still have the curtains by the way. They look very nice in my new apartment.