by Matt Koceich
It came before the cancer, in hindsight, an omen of sorts. But still it came.
The butterfly.
But before the butterfly, before the cancer, came a blessing named Larissa Willard. Larissa was a teaching assistant who worked with students with special needs. As the story went, Rachel knew of Larissa, but had never met the woman formally. In the four years they had worked in the same school building, Rachel remembered only one time she said hello to Larissa as the two passed in the hallway. Once. Looking back, Rachel was embarrassed to think she wasted all that time.
The following year, Rachel found out that Larissa would be in her classroom assisting a new student. The two ladies struck up a friendship, and Rachel wound up giving Larissa the nickname “Jazz.” Larissa would always bring jazz CDs into the classroom for Rachel to play while the students were doing their daily writing assignment. Rachel quickly fell in love with the melodic sounds of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane. The two ladies would laugh at all the stressful things that teaching brought, and they would cry at all the sadness that was thrown their way.
But through it all, Rachel sensed something very different about Jazz. The lady was always talking about Jesus. And not in a preachy sort of way. Larissa talked about Jesus like they were next-door neighbors. She would be talking about how some crazy driver cut her off in traffic and made her blood boil, but then say something like, “You know, Rachel, Jesus was spit on and punched! Can you believe that? The man came to die for me, and the soldiers spit in His face and punched Him. Jesus took all of that for me! Mercy, sister…Jesus helped put my road rage into perspective. I sure do love Him.”
At that time, Rachel didn’t have Jesus in her heart and was curious about the faith Jazz showed. Over lunch, she’d started to ask Jazz questions about the Bible and her faith. Jazz, in return, quoted numerous Bible verses and even prayed for Rachel. And still, none of it came across as weird. For Rachel, listening to Jazz talk about Jesus actually filled her heart with joy.
And then life stepped in and gave Jazz some very bad news.
The doctors told her it was cancer. There was a tumor growing, and things didn’t look promising. Rachel couldn’t believe the news. How could this happen? That was the middle of November.
“Rachel, I’m sorry, but I can’t work anymore. I told them I’m going to try and make it to Thanksgiving, but then I have to resign.”
“Come on, Jazz. Don’t apologize. You’ll be fine.” Rachel wasn’t so sure.
Just a few weeks later, Thanksgiving break came, and Rachel watched her new friend suffer under the ravaging disease.
Things got so bad that on the last day on the job—a rainy Friday before Thanksgiving break—Larissa’s daughter had to walk her to the car. Rachel would never forget standing at the school entrance watching her dear friend shuffle through the falling rain. She felt as if her heart was breaking.
Rachel was frustrated, because she liked to be in control of things. Everything in Jazz’s life had come undone, and Rachel couldn’t do a thing to stop the cancer.
What Rachel didn’t know until later was that Larissa had left a page of Bible verses on Rachel’s desk with a note on it. The note said for Rachel not to worry, because Jazz knew who her Great Physician was. Larissa also said that she hoped the verses would bless Rachel while the two were apart.
A month passed.
More rain fell, and more lessons were learned, but Rachel still wondered how God could be a part of Larissa’s pain.
And then came Christmas.
Rachel received a call from Larissa. The doctors had not only removed all the cancer but gave her a clean bill of health. Jazz was going to come back to work after the New Year.
When Jazz returned, it was like a whole new person took over her body. Rachel couldn’t believe how revitalized her friend looked and acted. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Rachel was ready.
For Jesus.
Right there in the classroom, while the students were at music class, Rachel held Larissa’s hands and prayed for Jesus to come into her heart and take over. And then the craziest thing happened. A beautiful butterfly with yellow and black wings fluttered into the classroom and landed right on Rachel and Larissa’s clasped hands. They stood there for what felt like an eternity, just staring at the gorgeous and delicate creature.
When the kids came back from music, Rachel let go of Larissa’s hands, and the butterfly took flight.
Exactly one year from that beautiful, life-changing experience, Wren’s mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
Three months later she was gone.
At the cemetery, Wren was holding her father’s hand as they listened to their pastor preach about God’s love and strength in times of ultimate sadness. And then a yellow and black butterfly came and landed on their clasped hands.
That’s when Wren knew that God cared about His children. And that no matter how bad things may be, God is good. And just like this butterfly, He sends signs to His loved ones so they will know they are never alone.
The memory of the butterfly didn’t make the giant go away, but it did help Wren keep her faith in God. The butterfly in both memories helped her have the courage to keep believing.
Goliath’s mean face stared at her. She felt like a fly who was about to be swatted out of its misery.
She tried to wriggle free of the giant’s grip, but it was pointless. His fingers were like a vise.
But, if Larissa Willard could trust God with the cancer, and her mother could trust God with her soul, Wren could trust God to deal with this impossible situation. Because God, in her mind, was indeed bigger than the giants.
CHAPTER 10
The giant held on to her for a long time before putting her down. His strong hand released its grip on her; the iron bars that were his fingers pulled back and gave her body freedom.
“I WILL RETURN TO DECIDE YOUR FATE.”
Goliath plodded back to the front lines to mock the Israelites.
Wren stretched out her arms and legs to work out the cramps. At least she was free from the giant’s clutches.
But the freedom didn’t last long. Two new soldiers appeared and dragged her back to the tent. They pushed her inside, and she wondered what was going to happen next.
Time passed and pushed the sun below the horizon. The temperature fell and chilled Wren, forcing her to sit in the middle of the tent with her knees pulled up to her chest. A growing wind rustled the tent flaps.
Then she smelled smoke. She peered out from an opening in the tent and saw some Philistine soldiers sitting around a campfire. They were talking, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. It looked like they were pointing back at something, but the absence of light made it hard for her to see.
As she brought her eyes back to the fire, she saw a lady standing there. The lady looked like her new friend Josephine! Josephine stood and stared at the fire. The logs shifted, sending a shower of sparks upward into the dark night like orange fireflies drifting in different directions.
A handful of the fire sparks floated up over the soldiers and landed on Wren’s tent. The orange embers burned holes in the fabric and landed on the ground inside the tent. Another shower of sparks rose up over the fire and again floated over and landed on her temporary cell. These new embers were larger than the first and not only burned holes in the fabric but also caught the material on fire.
Wren hurried out of the tent expecting to run into a soldier.
But there was no one in sight. She saw a whole section of tents on fire just off to her left. As the flames reached higher into the night sky, a black and yellow butterfly danced away from the fire. The beautiful creature flitted through the dark night and landed on Wren’s arm. A tiny pulse echoed over her skin, coming from the delicate insect as a greeting. Its sheer wings opened and closed, gently, to the slow rhythm of some unheard tune.
How did a butterfly survive the fire?
/> She looked but couldn’t find Josephine. She did see the Israelites camped on the far side of the valley. That’s where she had to go, but the giant and the army stood between her and them.
She had to do something. The butterfly took flight and disappeared behind the burning tents. Wren followed it as she slipped through the shadows and eventually made her way toward the perimeter of the Philistine camp, careful not to been seen.
A man emerged from the darkness. He wasn’t dressed like the other Philistine soldiers. He moved toward Wren at a quick pace. She took up a fighter’s stance, hands clenched in fists raised together just below her face. Left foot forward. Right foot back. Torso turned so that her left side faced the stranger.
“It’s me,” the newcomer said.
Wren couldn’t make out the man’s face. “David?”
“Wren, yes, it’s me. David!”
The two new friends stealthily made their way to the edge of the camp and looked out on the wide-open valley before them.
“There!” Voices behind them shouted in anger.
Wren looked back and saw a group soldiers pointing at her and David.
They had been spotted.
Where was Josephine? It would be awesome if they could do that flying trick again to escape and land safely back in the Israelite camp.
But the Philistine soldiers were running down the hill now in close pursuit.
And behind them rose another cloud of dark shadows. The swirling bands of black smoke shattered into many pieces. The pieces morphed into the human-looking figures she’d seen earlier.
The horde of soldiers, both men and dark shadows, came after them like rain after thunder and lightning.
David ran.
And Wren ran after him.
Like her life depended on it.
CHAPTER 11
She ran so hard her leg muscles felt like they were about to explode.
David kept getting out in front of her in the race to escape the Philistines and the army of shadows. He tried to stop a few times to check on her, but she continued to wave him on toward the Israelite camp.
As she ran behind David, praying that they’d make it without getting hurt, an invisible hand lifted her off the ground, and she started flying again. But this time she was not riding on the back of Josephine.
The wind rushed past her face, and the ground fell away like she was a plane taking off, leaving the airport far behind.
“David!” Wren yelled, but her friend couldn’t hear her. She was too far up in the air now.
Down below, he turned around and looked for her. He finally saw Wren and waved, but the soldiers and the dark shadows were almost upon him, so he took off running again toward the camp.
The world spun around in circles as Wren’s body did a few barrel rolls high above the earth. Her stomach was having a hard time keeping up with all the changes in motion. When she leveled out, she felt like she was on a roller coaster that was suspended from the tracks.
She looked down and saw a band of light wrapped around her waist.
Now she was over the Israelite camp, soaring in a figure eight. That’s when she saw David safely reach the camp too.
A wall of glittering, crystalline shapes rose up in front of the Israelites. Wren didn’t know how this flying thing worked, but she wanted to get closer to see what was happening. She also wanted to meet back up with David and tell him about this flying stuff!
Descending, she could see that the shapes had delicate blue-colored wings and emitted shards of brilliant light. And getting closer still, she saw they were actually butterflies!
The human-like shadows that had been in pursuit of David broke into a thousand pieces of black. In no time, the pieces took flight as dark birds and soared straight into the butterflies. The birds tried attacking the butterflies, but when the tiny creatures were hit, they just turned into flashes of light.
When Wren looked back where the Israelites had been, beyond the wall of butterflies, all she saw was a pasture filled with sheep. The peaceful creatures had their heads down, grazing, completely unaware of the bizarre battle being waged around them. This vision made her feel like God was showing her how He takes care of His people. In this new place, the battlefield was gone….
One of the birds, its wings spread wide like a hungry hawk scouring the sky for prey, left the others and zeroed in on Wren. The creature closed the distance between them in seconds. Wren tried to dive and change directions, but it was useless, because the hawk was the more skilled of the two.
It stretched out its talons and snagged her shirt. The band of light that had been around her waist snapped away and gravity took over.
Speeding toward the valley far below, Wren prayed desperately.
The hawk swooped down and snatched her body up before she hit the ground. Even though she was much heavier than the bird, she couldn’t escape its supernatural grip.
Other hawks, all black with bloodred eyes, circled in the air around her.
The raptor carried Wren back to the cliff where Mark Grant had protected her. She was dropped and fell down on the hard earth.
A stab of pain ran up her right leg. When she looked around the predator was gone.
The dark man, Ra’zeil stood before her.
How did he get here?
How could that bird carry me like that?
“I don’t know who you are, but I do know you’re special. The angels watch over you.” Ra’zeil stepped closer with each word that came from his shadowy lips.
Wren looked around for Josephine.
“All you need to do is help me.”
The smoky clouds roiled beneath the demon’s translucent skin. He shut his eyes for the longest time. She blinked and then jumped. It looked like her mother was now standing there in front of her. Close enough to touch! How did her mother get here?
“Mommy?”
But when she blinked again, her mother had disappeared, and the shadow man was back in front of her.
“No, I’m not Mommy. But I can tell you where to find her.”
Wren was confused. How did this thing in front of her know about her mother?
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
She was exhausted.
Where was her father?
How could she leave this crazy place and get back to him?
“Are you ready to help me?”
Wren’s eyes filled with tears. She was at the breaking point. There was only so much she could take.
There was no way out.
But she knew that whatever this thing was, it wasn’t good. Helping it was not an option.
“No.”
Ra’zeil looked at her, his mesmerizing eyes swirls of red and gray. “Are you sure? I am the one in charge here. The giant will do as I command. If you help me, I will make sure you get home in one piece.”
Goliath lumbered over to where they were standing.
Home. She wanted to be home more than anything. The creature’s words were inviting. She wanted to see her dad and feel his strong arms around her. Yes, home sounded perfect now.
Goliath reached out his hand to grab her.
“Last chance, Wren Evans. You will either help me, or you will suffer in the giant’s hand.”
That’s when she saw the neon-green card sticking out of her jeans pocket.
With God, anything.
Wren had to believe that God meant what He said and that He was a keeper of promises.
God, please help me get out of here!
“No, I will not help you. My God will save me.”
CHAPTER 12
Goliath snatched Wren up off the rocky ground and held her high in the air for the whole Philistine army to see. He yanked her up so hard and fast she thought she was going to pass out.
Despite the way the Bible story ended, she was not going to be as lucky as the young shepherd boy.
Her luck had finally run out.
She writhed in the giant’s powerful grip like
a snake, trying to break free, but it was no use. She was a fourth-grader, and he was a nine-foot-tall superhuman.
The giant squeezed his fist and slowly pushed the air from Wren’s lungs.
As she hung there, high above the plain, her life slipped away.
“They are sending a boy to battle you!”
Her lungs were squeezing shut in Goliath’s hand. But her mind was still crystal clear.
The boy was David, and he was going to get rid of the nasty giant with a sling and a stone!
All she had to do was hold on a little while longer.
“AM I A DOG, THAT YOU COME AT ME WITH STICKS?”
The giant’s deep voice boomed like a bomb going off in Wren’s brain. She was slipping away, unable to hold on to life.
“COME HERE, AND I’LL GIVE YOUR FLESH TO THE BIRDS AND THE WILD ANIMALS!”
She thought about her poor father crying in the rain. If she died out here in the giant’s hand, that would be the end of him. First her mother and now her.
He would be devastated.
She heard a softer voice this time. It sounded familiar but very far away.
“I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God whom you have defied!”
David! Yes, it was David!
“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands!”
She tried one last time to fight back against the beast of a man. She pushed against his clenched fist with everything she had.
The world grew dim and her vision blurred.
The end was almost here.
As she hung high above the land, Wren could barely make out the shape of the shepherd approaching. Her brain was foggy from fright and pain.
Wren tried calling David’s name, but she didn’t have anything left. She saw David raise his arm to the giant.
Was he going to sling the stone that would take Goliath down?
The card in my pocket. The green index card!
The thought was a long shot, but it was all she had.
Lord, please help me!
