One day a
woman named Louise fell asleep in her bed, and dreamed a very
frightful dream. She dreamed that someone in Hell wrote a letter to
her, and it was to be delivered to her by a messenger. The messenger
passed between the lakes of Hell, and found his way to the door that
would lead him to the outside world.
Louise dreamed that
the messenger walked to her house, came inside, and gently but
firmly woke Louise up. He gave her the message, saying only a friend
had written it to her from Hell. Louise, in her dream, with
trembling hands took the letter and read:
My Friend I stand in
Judgment now, And feel that you're to blame somehow. On earth, I
walked with you day by day, And never did you point the way. You
knew the Lord in truth and glory, But never did you tell the story.
My knowledge then was very dim; You could have led me safe to Him.
Though we lived together on the earth, you never told me of the
second birth, and now I stand this day condemned, Because you failed
to mention Him. You taught me many things, that's true, I called you
"friend" and trusted you, But I learn now that it's too
late, You could have kept me from this fate. We walked by day and
talked by night, And yet you showed me not the light. You let me
live, and love, and die, You knew I'd never live on high. Yes, I
called you a "friend" in life, And trusted you through joy
and strife. And yet on coming to the end, I cannot, now, call you
"My Friend." ---Marsha
After reading the
letter, Louise awoke. The dream was still so real in her mind and
sweat dropped from her body in pools. She swore she could still
smell the acidic stench of brimstone and smoke from her room. As she
contemplated the meaning of her dream, she realized that as a
Christian, she failed in her duty to "go out to all the world
and preach the gospel." As she thought of that, she promised
herself that the next day, she would call Marsha and invite her to
church with her.
The next morning she
called Marsha and this was the conversation:
"Bill,
Is Marsha there?" "Louise, you dont know?" "No,
Bill, know what?" "Marsha was KILLED LAST NIGHT IN A CAR
ACCIDENT. I thought you knew?"
-Author
Unknown