Come Just As You Are

Saturday night, I got on the bus with the girls at the girls' ranch to head to CM for church. Lately there have been lots of new faces - mostly because I do not make it out there very often. There was one girl at the front of the bus whom I'd never seen before. I, with a big smile on my face, said "Hi! How are you?" She replied, "Not good." I said, "What? Not good? Why not good?" She replied, very matter-of-factly, "Because I'm here." So I said, "you aren't happy to be here? I'm super happy to be here!" (And I genuinely was - it had been way too long since I'd been on the bus with the girls, so I was excited for the ride.) I continued to talk to her for a minute, found out her name, and found out that she had just arrived the day before (Friday). I did get some smiles out of her as we spoke, but it was obvious that she wasn't so sure about this place. It seemed as though she could already tell it was a good place, but that didn't change the circumstances of her life, it didn't change her hurts, her sorrows, her wounds and scars. She's 15 years old. Her name is Zelia. Pr William spoke on Heb 10:19-25 - about having boldness to enter into the sanctuary, the holy of holies. He talked about giving our problems to God, but doing it completely and with faith. At the end of the service, he asked for those who wanted prayer to come to the front. I noticed that Zelia went forward. She was one among many kids, all on their knees praying. I don't know what she's gone through in life up to this point. I don't know if she has ever been in a church before. And I don't know what the days and weeks to come will hold. But I began to pray that she would truly give her worries over to the Lord. That she would be covered with Jesus' blood so she could enter into the holy of holies. That she would know Christ as her Lord and Savior.