Costly Obsession: Animalize
Page 55
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As the night wore on the group eventually broke up returning to their homes and lives, to pick up the pieces and begin anew. Ezekiel watched over the pyre until all traces of the cursed objects were nothing more than ash, even the metal of the medallions had melted into deformed clumps in the prolonged heat of the flames. The pastor knelt beside the small glowing pile of ash reflecting on the last twenty four hours. His eyes had been opened and there was no going back. He had been so busy telling his congregation that Jesus loves them that he’d neglected to teach them the other side. There is a darkness and not just in men’s hearts, just because he’d focused on the light doesn’t make it any less true or real. How many of his fellow men had he neglected to help by overlooking the unpleasant, leaving them open to the will of the destroyer. How long had it been since he told his parish that God’s commandments aren’t just a bunch of rules and ‘Thou shalt not’s, but a loving warning from a Father to His children; just as he had told his own children not to put things in the light sockets and to look both ways before crossing the street.
Shame and guilt washed over him and he fell before God, “Father forgive me! Forgive me for taking from Your word, for not wanting to see the darkness, let alone teach it. I have failed so many, but most importantly I have failed You. Forgive me that it took a demon walking amongst me to realize my short comings, forgive me for not only failing to inform and teach vigilance to those whom you entrusted me with, but for neglecting vigilance myself. Give me strength Father, strength and wisdom to teach your whole word, good and bad, and not worry about whom I offend. Help me to teach the truth, Your truth, all of it and make me vigilant so that this will not happen again. As You teach me may I in turn teach…” Ezekiel’s prayer for guidance and forgiveness continued for some time until his heart was purged.
After the flames died down, he doused the remaining embers with the water hose and turned in for the night, but as he reached for the door a faint sound caught his attention. There, in the shadows, huddled in the rear corner of the Garrison’s deck, was a very still, very frightened Michael Lamb. Ezekiel could see the fear in the poor boy’s eyes, and understood.
“It’s alright son, come with me. Everything will be alright, you’ll see.”