Fern was a gentle little horse and after Daddy drove her for a little while he pronounced her safe for me to drive to town on my own.
One Monday morning in early fall Daddy and Mom had things that needed to be done in town. They asked John and me if we wanted to go and we jumped at the chance.
After John hitched Fern to the buggy we headed down the road to the little town of Meyersdale 10 miles away. We agreed that I could drive on the way in and he would drive on the way back. The drive in was short as we talked and enjoyed the scenery and each others company.
Once we got to town we tied Fern to the hitching rack that was situated close to the middle of town. Right next to it was a small park with several benches, an old ugly statue, and a nice fountain.
We walked to the stores and then had to carry all our purchases back to the buggy before we went to the next store. On our last trip back to the buggy we were surprise to see a man standing on one of the benches shouting something on top of his lungs. As we placed the groceries into the buggy we stood and listened to him for a while.
"You have to repent!" he yelled. "You have to accept Jesus as your Saviour and become saved!" he bellowed. "You are all on your way to hell!" he continued. We untied Fern and sat in the buggy and watched him jump around on the bench and swing his arms wildly as he kept repeating his three lines over and over at the top of his lungs.
As we drove away I tried to repress a shudder. Somehow the day didn't seem quite as bright anymore. I was glad that I was amish and didn't have to worry about what the bellowing man had been saying.
Back in those days we didn't even know how to be saved other then to stay in the church ordinance isn't that terrible.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that with Jesus we have no condemnation. I'm so happy our pastor doesn't bellow! :o)
ReplyDeleteGod bless ya and have a glorious day sweetie!
Sometimes I can't help but wonder if those people truly believe in what they're saying or if they're just nuts. Don't get me wrong, I believe we need Jesus to be saved, but screaming it and getting up in people's faces pretty much takes the focus off Jesus himself, doesn't it? Who knows, maybe he thought he was doing what God wanted him to. I love how you convey your thoughts from when you were in that situation!
ReplyDeleteI never did like listening to preachers who shout. It seems to me they should be able to get their point across in a normal voice.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason i always avoid street preachers even though I am born again. I admire their courage and conviction but it's just not my thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm a preacher's kid, and preachers who shout and rant give me the heebie-jeebies, whether they are on the street or in the pulpit. Jesus never felt the need to rant and rave, and He managed to get His point across rather well, thank you.
ReplyDelete