HOOKED-UNHOOKED

                                                   Ben

 Ben showed up one day at Tom’s house. He looked really good. His hair was neatly cut and his eyes clear. And the way he smiled made something in Tom desire what ever he had.

“I gotta hand it to you mehn you look great! What are you on now?” Tom said with his voice muffled.

Ben smiled and said “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you but I’m clean. Been clean for a month now.” Tom was shocked and he didn’t hide it.  “Clean?” Tom said with both shock and amazement.

Ben went on to tell him about a tract he stumbled on while cleaning the store. He had thrown it into the trash and was about to leave when a split iron from the trash can held unto his shirt. He tried to pull free but his shirt tore in the process and just then, he spotted the tract sitting on top of other garbage; he picked it up and read and that was it for him. He accepted Jesus, went to rehab and his life had not been the same since. 

Tom gave him a second look and laughed out all the air in his lungs. He wasn’t going to take any religious crap from his friend, not today and not ever. So he told his friend to pocket his discovery and leave him and so did Ben leave.

When everyone went to sleep later that night, Tom was awake and for the first time in a long while, he thought.  He thought of a lot of things and his thoughts brought tears to his eyes. He remembered the day he got involved with the candy, how that it was Ben who helped him get the stash those early days. He remembered how he told his wife, he would return late from work one night but instead, he hung out with Ben to get high.” Ben was there all along and what’s this rubbish he’s saying about finding salvation?” he asked himself. “Could a mere tract do that to someone?” he thought more.

Before he finally went to bed, he flirted with the thought of becoming clean and a voice told him it was farfetched. Very far!