This is a true story where God’s forgiving love won out in the end. It is revised and abbreviated to fit the purpose of this article.
Years ago, a young girl grew up on a cherry orchard farm near Traverse City, Michigan, not far from the Canadian border. Her parents were a bit old-fashioned and tended to overreact to their young daughter’s actions. The nose ring, the shortness of her skirts, and the music she listened to bothered them. They argued with her and grounded her a few times, but all that did was make her angry and more rebellious. She finally decided to take off and run away.
She hitchhiked to Detroit since it was not too far away and had been there once before with her church youth group. It seemed okay then, with the good and bad parts of the city.
While looking for a place to stay, the young girl met a man who drove in a luxurious car. He offered her a ride, bought her lunch, and arranged a beautiful condo where she could stay. A few days later, he gave her some pills that made her feel better than she had ever felt. The young girl determined she was right all along; her parents had kept her from all the fun in life.
Her parents were worried sick and did all they could to find their daughter but to no avail. All they seemingly could do was pray, bear their loss, believe God would somehow help, and hope that she would return one day.
Her new life continued for a month, two months, and more. Finally, she could not live off this man’s charity; the young girl had to do something in return. Prostitution was the payback.
As the months went by, life was not fun anymore, for she was repeatedly abused and hurt. Amid her misery, the girl often thought about home and her parents. Life there may have been boring and controlled, but it was safe, and most of all, she knew deep down she was genuinely loved.
After a year, the young girl started showing signs of illness, which caused the man, whom she called “boss,” to toss her out of the condo and his service. She tried to make it on her own, but things were not working out. When winter rolled in, the girl found herself begging for food and money and sleeping on metal grates outside the big department stores at night. Dark bands circled her eyes, and she developed a cough that would not go away. She was sick, really sick.
She dreamed of home, her parents, brothers, old friends, and her dog wishing she could return. But how could she? Her parents would never accept her back now. She was dirty inside and out.
In this young girl’s desperation, she saved money, borrowed a phone, and called home. No one answered. She called again, and still, no one answered. Finally, the young girl called one last time and left a message, “Dad, Mom, it’s me; I want to come home, I really do. I will take a bus to Traverse tomorrow, arriving around 2 pm. I understand if you are not there and will continue on the bus to Canada.” It took about 7 hours to get to Traverse, and all along the way, she wondered about what would happen when she arrived, if anything. She had been too bad and rebellious, not worth forgiving or wanting back.
The bus finally rolled into the station. She combed her hair, licked the lipstick off her teeth, and tried to cover her tobacco-stained fingertips with gloves. The bus stopped for only 15 minutes, so she got off and walked into the terminal. Not really knowing what to expect, she was taken back when all of her family was there to greet her, including her brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. They were all wearing goofy party hats and blowing noisemakers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal was a computer-generated banner that read, “Welcome home!”
Out of the crowd came her dad. Immediately she, with tears running down her cheeks, said, “Dad, I am so….”
He interrupted, “I know, honey, but let’s go, or we will be late for the party awaiting you at home.”1
Final Note
Was this young girl forgiven? You bet she was, no matter what she had done.
Do you need to be forgiven? Seek God’s forgiveness first, and then ask it of others. Do you need to forgive others? Then do it, and if need be, seek God’s help.
Scripture Reference
I Corinthians 13: 7 Love bears, believes, and hopes all things.
Footnote
- This story appears in Phillip Yancy’s book, What’s So Amazing About Grace, pages 49-51. The book is filled with several impactful stories like this one. It would be well worth your while to get his book.