FLAURIE
By Mr. Morgan McCarthy
“I hunger now,” said the young woman to herself. It was time for breakfast. With curiosity and anticipation she skipped out unto the beach to see what it would be this time. There upon a little low table was a platter with six strips of smoked bacon and a sandwich made of buttered toast with scrambled eggs and melted shredded cheese; and to the side of the plate was a great mug of white grapefruit juice. “Thank You. Thank You,” she said. “My favorite again this day!” She spoke these words unto her mysterious and invisible Provider. Looking for an index card message from Him, she found it next to the mug of juice, and she read this one to herself, “’And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.’ I Kings 17:6.”
This girl said to herself, “I do not know why, but reading these Words is as good to me as eating this breakfast.” She wondered what ravens were and what they looked like. And what kind of person was a “he?” Then at once she sat down upon the sand and ate.
Her name was “Flaurie.” That she did know. And she was a “she.” And the covering of her
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form given to her by her Provider was duly appropriate for what she was as a she. Flaurie had lived all alone in a little world for as long as she knew herself to be. And her own little world here was a little piece of solid ground in the midst of a vast impassable waters. She measured this island at one hundred of her steps across in diameter. She had a structure in which she lived when indoors, and she had a towering weeping willow tree, a yard of a lawn of green grass, and this shore of nice sand here when she spent some of the time of her life outdoors. Flaurie loved to play in the seas, and she always found these vast waters to be warm and peaceful. Flaurie enjoyed lying down in the green grass and watching the clouds of the skies for an hour at a time. The clouds moved ever so slowly; but after a long while everything up there was all different from how it had been at the beginning. Flaurie prospered on hot days in the shade of the weeping willow, sitting up against the great trunk, and rejoicing in the peace and contentment of this world. As for another, Flaurie had never seen another like herself or another unlike herself in all her years of life here. She was happy. Flaurie only knew of her mysterious
Provider Who took care of her needs, this One Whom she had neither seen with her eyes nor heard with her ears. Breakfast was done now, and Flaurie got to her feet and said to her Provider, “Thank You, Whoever You are, for my food and drink this morning.”
Then this older girl hopped in delight like a little girl back to her structure and went inside. Her home this structure was a square-shaped house. Each of its four exterior walls had a door in the middle with a window to the right and a window to the left. It was made of wood painted red with a shingled roof and a cupola. Within were five little rooms. In each corner of the structure was a square room with a window in each of the two perpendicular outer walls and with a door in the corner where the two perpendicular interior walls met. These four corner doors of these four corner rooms opened up into the fifth room, the room with her very precious great big mirror, in the very center of her house. The ceiling of this her favorite room had a skylight that opened up into her cupola. Extending from this center room and between the other four rooms was a hallway system in the shape of a “plus sign,”
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And at the end of these four hallways were the doors that led out of the structure that were previously mentioned, Always Flaurie rushed into this mirror room, and always Flaurie hesitated leaving this mirror room. Of all things Flaurie admired in her lone life, her reflection in the mirror she most admired of all. Flaurie loved her face. Hers was truly a visage of a female, and there was none like it anywhere else. “Flaurie, you are just too pretty,” she said to herself. Just then an index card appeared in the edge of the mirror, and she picked it out and read its Words to herself: “’Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.’ Proverbs 16:18.” Yet Flaurie boldly went ahead and talked back to this wise Provider of index cards, saying, “Destruction shall never happen to me. I shall never fall..” Dropping these Words onto the floor, the woman stared into her face in the mirror: Her very much hair was long and untamed and with a purple hue. Her eyes had irises of black blending into her pupils. Her nose was triangular. Her lips protruded much top and bottom, often hiding her teeth when she smiled. And her complexion had a greenish tint. Moving her bare foot across the floor in front of this mirror she felt that index card under her toes. This time the Words of the card were nasty and disturbing. None of these index card notes had said bad news to her before as this one did.
And when she turned away from her face in the mirror to the Word on the floor, Flaurie felt rebellious now at her benevolent Provider. She said “No way!” And she swept it away out of this room with her
bare foot. Then she went back to admiring her face in its reflection.
Later that day in the twilight, Flaurie chose to seek fun this time by climbing up her willow tree.
Ever-daring, she climbed and climbed unto she was all the way to its top, way above her structure and all of her solid ground. Holding on to the thin vertical trunk up here, Flaurie found herself swaying side to side as she stood upon a somewhat sturdy horizontal branch. High up in this firmament, higher than she had ever climbed this lone tree, the woman looked out upon the skies and the endless waters that lay beyond her ground. She could see the waves. She could see the evening drawing on to the night. She could feel the wind blowing upon her pretty hair. She could see her beach. She wondered
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upon these wonders. Who was It Who had made this little shore that even the big waters could not pass over it? Was there a Wise One Who counted the grains of sand of her beach? Did Anyone know how many blades of grass there were in her green lawn? Who built her edifice? Who had given her the great mirror? Did her Provider know this Maker? How many hairs did she have on her head? Did He know? How many stars were there now in this black nighttime sky above her now? Who was wise enough to make all of them? There was a One indeed Who made the wind of the sky and the waves of the waters and the solidness of the ground. There was One indeed Who had made her. She lived life.
She was happy sometimes. She was unhappy sometimes. She breathed air. She took steps. She saw sights. She lived, body and soul and spirit. She had a Maker, and He knew about her. Did this Maker know her Provider? Was the Maker of All and the Provider for her needs the One and the Same? In
a keen insight of enlightenment, Flaurie asked the Maker of those index cards, “Who are You, O Creator?” Just then an index card fell down upon her head from above. She took it and held it before her eyes in the dark of night. It was too dark to see what it said way up here. Just then a cloud passed
by overhead, clearing the way for the full moon to shine light for her to read. And Flaurie read this index card in the bright moonlight, “’In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ Genesis 1:1.” The name of this Creator of herself was “God.” God created her, and He created her place to live , and He created her face. This index card told her that her great beauty was not made by herself.
This was something nobody ever told the young lady. She had always thought that she was pretty because she made herself pretty. And a fierce devil’s pride in her woman’s heart wrestled with the
Spirit of Holiness called “God.” And Flaurie said Up to God Above, shaking her fist way up here at His moon of the night, “No! You’re wrong! You didn’t make me pretty! I made myself pretty! You have nothing to do with my beautiful head! I dare You to tell me otherwise, God!” Just then God sent down another index card for her to read, and she read thus in great rebellion and disagreement: “’At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and
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said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.’ Daniel 4:29-31.” In bold impudence, Flaurie said right Up to Him, “I wish that there were such a thing as a bad word, for then would I say it now!”
Then the writer of words spoke His words, and she heard a great and terrible voice as of the sound of many waters say down to her, “Thy blessings are departed from thee.”
And the branch upon which she stood upon broke, and she fell! All the way down to the ground did Flaurie fall, her body crashing into several branches on her way down. And when she reached the earth, she landed hard upon the top of her head. And the girl was knocked quite unconscious, and she lay down there, senseless and silent and unmoving.
Flaurie found herself standing upon the sand of her familiar shore and looking upon the familiar red of sunset reflecting off the vast waters. She felt okay, yet she knew that she was dreaming. She understood that someone was coming for her from a land beyond these waters, but she did not know who it was to be. But what she did know was that her coming visitor was a “he.” And this he was not her Provider and Maker. And she felt happy. Flaurie began to sing in joy. Then she saw a form way off in the distance. It had to be him. A stirring of little ripples came ashore and washed across her bare feet. Her mouth fell open in mystique. And she watched in most novel fascination as he came closer, riding upon the sea. Then she could make him out. And what she saw was a two-legged creature as herself riding a four-legged creature unlike herself. This four-legged creature was galloping upon the
surface of the sea as if it were upon land, its hooves splashing up water as it ran. And this two-legged
creature had a form unlike her own form. Even his attire was unlike her attire. And when she could see his face, she beheld an attractiveness that stirred strange new feelings in her heart more so than
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even her own face did for her. Here was a man. And this man rode his beast up to the shore where she stood, said to the beast, “Whoa.” dismounted, then stood before her. And he said to her in a deep he-voice, “I am Halberder, pretty miss, and I am sent from God to speak unto you.”
“Halberder,” she asked in shyness before such a human, “what does God wish to tell me?”
“These be words of love, though they be hard words to hear, O pretty ma’am,” he said.
“I need to hear what God has you to tell me,” she said in humbleness before this exciting new guy.
And handsome Halberder said, “It is written, ‘The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.’ Psalm 10:4. It is written again.
‘He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.’ Psalm 10:11. And it is written a third time, ‘Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.’ Psalm 10:13.”
In solemnity and somberness, Flaurie asked, “I am wicked, Halberder?”
“I pray for your righteousness, Flaurie,” he said in most gentle compassion. Then he at once mounted his beast, said, “Giddy-up!” and rode off back upon the vast waters and after a while disappeared back into the horizon. The handsome man was gone. The pretty woman was alone. The setting sun was dim now. And Flaurie felt very sad.
She opened her eyes. She saw the light of red sun. But it was now the sun of the other side of the sky. And she felt great torrents of pain in her head. Why did her head hurt so bad? She found that she was sprawled and supine and lying upon her green grass. This hurting physical discomfort was something that she had never felt before, and it frightened her. Rallying, she forced herself to sit up.
Flaurie felt weak and dizzy and confused. She said in bewilderment, “Oo oo oo!” She put her right hand to the top of her head where it hurt, and it got all wet. She held her right hand in front of her faint eyes, and, behold, it was all red with blood. She gasped. She began to weep in fear for her life. And as
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she cried, she sobbed. Her gorgeous head was all broken. Was her own end coming upon her? Did life
come to a close? Was she dying now? Her tears where she sat fell upon the grass. “Help!” Flaurie did cry out. “Please help me!” Looking Up in entreaty and in perplexity, she saw the broken branch way up above. And Flaurie remembered all about the night before. Holding her self up upon her bottom with her trembling palms upon the ground, she felt a gentle zephyr blowing upon her. And this zephyr brought with it an index card again from the Good God. It fell upon the ground face up right before her
knees. Too weak to pick it up, Flaurie strained her eyes and read it, “’For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.’ Romans 7:15.” Humbled, Flaurie tried to think upon this Bible verse in reflection. These were more hard words for her to read, but these were also words written to her in love. She was always too proud of her female face. Her pride was a bad thing. It was a “ blackness to what is white,” “ a darkness to what is light.” Was she here wrong in a right world? It got her into big trouble with God. She prayed that God send her another index card with similar words to the one she just got. Her semi-conscious head now felt an east wind blowing upon her form here. And this east wind brought with it her asked-for Word of God. This index card
did land face up on her lap. And she took a deep breath of pain and fatigue, and she read from it in silence to herself, “’For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.’ Romans 7:19.” In a daze, she came to understand from this index card that she did not do the things that she ought to do and that she did do the things she she ought not to do.” In repentance, Flaurie prayed and confessed, “God, you made me pretty.” Then she petitioned God for another index card, and this one came from a wind from the north. It read, “’O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’ Romans 7:24. Right now, with her head broken wide open from the
great fall, Flaurie knew all about “the body of this death.” She prayed quietly and feebly to God Above: “I am bad—so very bad. You are good—so very good..” Then a wind from the south came upon her where she held herself up sitting. And with this south wind came a still small voice that bade
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her come out to the beach.
Flaurie obeyed God’s still small voice, and with her bleeding head, she rallied, and she crawled on her hands and knees on a great journey to the very near beach. She feared her head wound. She feared dying. She feared a worse place to come after dying. But the Holy Spirit of that voice filled her heart with divine trust and hope and faith. After about a half-hour she was there on the shore, and she said in great triumph with God, “Thy will be done.”
There upon the sand, awaiting her, was a big paper sheet with a title reading “The Romans’ Road of So Great Salvation Bible Verses.” Her senses more clear and steady now, Flaurie, remaining on her hands and knees, read the verses of Words of this “Romans’ Road”: “’For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;’ Romans 3:23. ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ Romans 5:8. ‘Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.’ Romans 5:9. ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:’ Romans 5;12. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.’ Romans 6:23. ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ Romans 10:9. ‘For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ Romans 10:10. ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Romans 10:13.”
Flaurie understood what this sheet of Words was telling her: God her Provider and Maker was this Jesus Christ her Lord. This Jesus did love her so much. He even died for her! He died for her even when she was so full of pride. And He died for her because she was so in love with her own face.
And as much as her head was bleeding now, He Himself bled all the worse from all of His body. He willingly let Himself bleed to death so that she herself did not have to go to that very worst place after death. If she were to die soon, was it because of her sins? This Lord Jesus wanted to save her now.
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He wanted right now to become her own personal Saviour. He wanted her to go to a Better Place than here were she to perish. This Jesus Himself was dead no more, for He had come back to life after having died. This living God could help Flaurie now. All she needed do now was to believe…and to tell Him all that she now understood about Him in her heart.
And these were the words that Flaurie prayed now for salvation of her soul: “Dear Lord my God: I am sorry for all that I said and thought about my face. I ask You now to save me from the bad place that I deserve to go to and to save me for the Good Place that I do not deserve to go to…for after I
die. I believe and know and confess that You did die for my sins, and You did rise again from the dead.
Forgive me and save me and hear me this day. In Your name I pray. Amen.”
The woman Flaurie then looked Up to Where God must be, and she said, “I can see now, Jesus, that it was a good thing for me to have fallen out of the tree. Great good has come out of great bad. Only a good God can do that.” Then, her head feeling like it were two pieces, the girl fainted away on the beach, fell prone on the sand, and lay there in grave wounds.
Flaurie opened her eyes, and behold, that fascinating dream man Halberder! Her head was resting upon his lap, and he was stroking her hair. Her head hurt not now. There was a red setting sun in the skies now. And this was no dream. He said gently to her, “I have great dear cares for you, O fair
Flaurie.”
“I dreamed about you, Halberder,” she said, happy.
“This time I am real, Flaurie,” he said. “You had a dread fall. How do you feel?”
“I hit my head,” she said. “But I think I’m okay now.”
“Our Great Physician has power to heal the sick even today,” he told her.
“It is good to be living and well,” she said.
“I am so glad, O Flaurie,” he said. “I was afraid for you from afar.”
“Do you know Jesus, Halberder?” asked Flaurie.
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“I do indeed,” he said.
“I found Him just now back sometime,” she said.
“I know,” he said in ardor. “He says in His Word, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart..’ Jeremiah 29:11-13.”
“Jesus is a Good God,” said Flaurie in praise.
“’It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.’ Lamentations 3:22-25.”
“I can sing of such wonderful Words of life that you do speak unto me, O Halberder,” said Flaurie. “Your words are wondrous Words of God just like in all of my index cards.”
“You are a beautiful woman, Flaurie,” he said to her.
“You are a handsome prince, Halberder,” said Flaurie.
“It is written about you and me in the Lord, comely Flaurie, ‘Blessed is the man that rrusteth in
the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ Jeremiah 17:7-8.”
Just then Flaurie heard a neigh. Flaurie raised her head and saw that galloping hoofed four-legged beast. In inquisitiveness, she looked from the beast to the man to the beast and again to the man. In answer to her question in her countenance, the man said, “That creature is called a ‘horse.’”
“A horse,” said Flaurie, delightfully edified. “He is a very noble beast.” Very well in her head and in her body from the fall in the tree, Flaurie leaped up, ran up to the horse, and stroked its mane in
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fondness. “I just love him,” she said.
“Why, thank you, Flaurie,” said Halberder, flattered.
Just then a small black flying creature with wings came upon them in this shore. The man raised his wrist, and this flying beast with wings lighted upon it. Halberder went ahead and told the woman, “And this is my bird, Flaurie.”
She ventured forth and asked him, “Is this bird a ‘raven?’”
“You knew that?” he asked. “You are full of surprises, girl.”
“I am right?” she asked. The man nodded his head. “I learned it from God’s Word,” she told him.
Then Halberder popped her a brave new question, asking, “Flaurie, would you run away with me back unto the rest of the world?”
“I am to leave my island?” she asked.
“If you would, that is,” he said, tentative.
“Are there many lands in the rest of the world?” she asked.
“Very many, Flaurie,” he said. “You could be my wife. If you would, that is.”
“And you can be my husband, dear Halberder,” said Flaurie.
“’Can’ and not ‘could?’” he asked.
“’Will’ and not ‘would,’” she promised back to him.
“You and I can worship Jesus together for now on, O stunning Flaurie,” said Halberder.
“Oh, I do. I surely do,” said Flaurie wedding vows.
Halberder then mounted his horse, proffered his hand, and helped her mount behind him. She put her arms around his waist. The raven went on ahead. And the horse began to magically gallop across the surface of the vast waters with swiftness and fleetness. And Flaurie ran away with Halberder
unto a happy new life of companionship.
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