Subj: [RR] Story (long) Adventures of Billy and Bobby
Date: 1/20/99 10:05:05 PM Central Standard Time
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This is story #10 in the Billy and Bobby series where Daniel is included. In
the last story, Bobby tried to share the gospel with Daniel, but Daniel
insisted on living his life without Jesus. Then, at the end of the story,
Daniel almost got hit by a car. In this story, Daniel learns a life changing
lesson from his pet poodle, Gizmo. As always, comments and suggestions are
welcome. Please enjoy.
Regards,
Greg Wright
Lebanon, TN
The Adventures of Billy and Bobby
A Lesson From Gizmo
The school day was over and Daniel raced home. It wasn't that school went
badly
that day, that wasn't why Daniel hurried home, although he had worried when he
found out that Bobby was sick and would stay home. He had worried about the
bullies; how would they treat him if Bobby wasn't around. But he had no
trouble
with Reggie, although Reggie was having his own trouble with Ross and Ronald.
They were not happy that Reggie was a Christian, and they were especially
miffed
when prevented them from robbing and harrassing other kids. In fact, Ross and
Ronald were so occupied with Reggie that they left Daniel alone. Even
physical
education class went better than usual. They played soccer and Reggie passed
the ball to Daniel several times, whenever Daniel was close to the net.
Unfortunately, Daniel always missed and his team groaned.
Some of them chided Reggie. "Why do you pass to Daniel; he always misses."
Daniel cringged when Reggie put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about
them." Reggie consoled. "This is more about technique than strength and
coordination. When you take a shot in front of the goal, you need to kick
with your
laces, that's all. You're kicking with your toe; that's why you keep missing.
Sometime I'll come over to your house and help you practice.
The other kids on the team just kind of shrugged their shoulders and asked.
"Is
this the same Reggie?"
Actually, the only bad thing that happened at school that day was lunch.
Daniel
was always amazed at how the school never served boiled spinach except while
the yard was being mowed. And, the concoction that was supposed to be meat
loaf, he was sure was nothing more than flavored, recycled card board. So, he
ate
very little, and now he was starved.
When he arrived at his back door, he was out of breath from running. But, as
he
unlocked the door he remembered another obstacle between him and the
refrigerator, Gizmo. Gizmo was his miniature poodle. Jet black, champion
sired,
and the winner of many dog shows, she was royalty and she knew it. Normally,
as
soon as she heard Daniel's footsteps she would whine so pitifully, that Daniel
would have to feed her first, to have any peace at all.
"This time," Daniel thought, "maybe if I'm really quiet, she won't hear me."
Slowly
Daniel unlocked the back door. Then, as he opened it, the door squeeked.
But,
there was not sound from Gizmo. Then, leaving the door open, he tiptoed over
to
the refrigerator and opened the door, revealing all the finer condiments and
elements of an afternoon snack: cream cheese, jelly, mustard, pickles,
bologna,
cheese, ketchup, and sardines. But, Daniel stuck with his usual fare, a
bologna
and jelly sandwich.
Finished at last, he wondered why Gizmo was so quiet, and walked down to the
basement to check on her. By now, he fully expected Gizmo to come bouncing
and running. But still, there was no Gizmo. He looked behind all the
furniture and
in every closet and room. He even checked all the boxes that were close to the
floor.
Finally, he noticed that the clothes dryer was out of place and that the air
escape
had been disconnected from the wall, leaving a hole just small enough for a
poodle to slide through.
"She's out!" Daniel yelled, as he raced out the basement door calling,
"Gizmo,
Gizmo."
He looked all around his yard, and having no success, he left a note for his
Mom
and went down the street.
Billy ran out his front door when he heard Daniel. "What's wrong?"
"Gizmo is out. I've got to find here fast. She is so small, if another dog
gets to her
first, it could be a disaster."
"I'll help you look for her. Let's get Bobby to help."
"Bobby's sick."
"He's not sick anymore; he just had some kind of 24 hour thing. He's okay
now."
With Bobby joining in, the three boys searched up and down the street.
"Hey, let's get the Terlouws to help, Bobby suggested."
After the Terlouws joined them; Jeremy, John Mark, and Joseph; they decided to
split up and meet back at Daniel's house in an hour. Daniel went with Billy.
The hour was almost up when Billy and Daniel were met by a six year old named
Travis Trump. From Billy's perspective, Travis was the neighborhood nerd, or
"nerdling", as he preferred to call him. He was extremely inquisitive and
always
wanted to know what Billy was doing and why. And, if there was any way, he
was
quick to find something to argue about.
"Hey, do you guys want to see a real scaredy cat?" Travis yelled.
"Go away Travis." Billy yelled back. "We're busy."
"What are you doing?"
"Not now Travis, we're trying to find Daniel's dog."
"What does it look like?" Travis asked.
"She's a small black poodle with a red collar." Daniel responded.
"Your dog's a real scaredy cat." Travis accused.
"How would you know?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"Oh, he just wants to argue and waste our time." Billy responded.
But Travis was persistently. "Come on guys, you've got to see this."
Reluctantly, Daniel and Billy followed Travis around to his back yard. There,
they
found Gizmo, standing on top of a bird bath, barking at a giant yellow tabby
cat on
the ground. The cat just sat there, looking up at Gizmo, with it's tail
rapidly
flipping. Daniel ran over to Gizmo and picked her up and hugged her.
"Thanks Travis, you found my dog."
"Sure," Travis responded, "but why would anyone want a dog like that, a dog
who
is even afraid of cats?"
"Oh, she's very smart." Daniel responded. "And, she does very well in dog
shows."
"Okay, but wouldn't you rather have a bigger dog who was just as smart?"
"No, not at all."
"But Gizmo is so small," Travis continued, "if you played roughly with her,
you'd
probably hurt her. You might as well have a cat. My cat could whip your dog
any
day."
"Travis, I guess I love Gizmo because she's my dog. And for me, she's just
right.
But most important, now we've found her and she's safe."
Then Billy looked at his watch and declared, "It's time."
To Billy's chagrin, Travis followed them back to Daniel's house. By now, all
the
other boys were they, as well, and they listened with great delight as Travis
explained what had happened at the bird bath.
When Daniel's mother returned home from work, she was very pleased with how
the boys had worked together to help Daniel find Gizmo and wanted to reward
them. So, she invited all the boys, including Travis, to return that evening
for a
bonfire and marshmellow roast.
At the bonfire, because Travis was the smallest, he felt the most comfortable
sitting next to Daniel, who was next in size.
"I know why you like Gizmo so much." Travis began.
"Why is that?"
"Because you two are so much alike."
This caught Daniel off guard as memories of being called Fifi sped through his
mind. But, he kept his cool.
Travis went on. "After all, you have curly hair just like Gizmo."
"That's true." Daniel agreed.
"You're both smart. At least, that's what Billy says."
"Okay." Daniel said, not wanting to disagree.
"And, you're both small for your breed."
"I guess that's true," Daniel answered, "and neither one of us is any good at
soccer."
"Huh?" Daniel laughed at the puzzled look on Travis' face.
Then, he continued. "There is one difference, Travis. Gizmo was lost, but
not
anymore. I'm still lost."
"What do you mean you're lost?"
"Do you believe in God, Travis? Do you believe he really has a son named
Jesus,
and that Jesus loved us so much that he died for us?"
"I don't know; I think my mom does."
"Do you believe that God raised Jesus back to life and that, even now, Jesus
is
looking for us, the same way that we were all out looking for Gizmo. If
that's the
case, I'm lost, just like Gizmo was, and I don't want to be lost anymore. I
want
Jesus to find me."
With that said, Daniel spring to his feet. "Billy, Bobby, follow me; we've
got to
talk."
Daniel continued. "Guys listen. I've been thinking about what you've been
telling
me, and I don't want to be lost anymore. I'm ready to become a Christian and
to
have Jesus as my boss and coach."
"Are you serious?" Bobby asked, incredulously.
"Let's do it." Billy cheered.
The boys were gone for about fifteen minutes.
When they returned, Billy and Bobby gathered everyone together so that Daniel
could speak to them.
As he stood by the fire, Daniel spoke. "Friends, tonight we are here to
celebrate
finding Gizmo. And, I'm very grateful to everyone who helped. Gizmo was lost
and in great danger, but thanks to you, she has been found and is safely here
with
us. And, although to most people, she would just be another dog, to me she is
special, because she is my dog."
"But, Gizmo is not the only one who was lost tonight. I was lost, as well,
not
geographically, but spiritually. I was determined to live my life my own way
and to
leave Jesus out of it."
"But tonight, I realized that all this time, Jesus has been looking for me.
And, he
even enlisted the help of Billy and Bobby to find me. And, although I spurned
their
attempts to tell me about Jesus, a few minutes ago, with their help..."
Daniel's
voice began to crack with emotion.
"With their help," he continued, "I invited Jesus to come into my heart and to
be
my boss and coach. And, I wanted you, the people I have learned to trust, to
be
the first to know, that today I am a Christian."
Daniel didn't get to finish his last sentence, drowned out by cheers and
applause
that so aroused the neighbors that they began to turn on their outside lights
and
look out their windows. Then, the boys all embrace Daniel, not with the
gentle
hugs of older relatives, but with the vigorous, joyful bear hugs that say more
from
a boy's heart than could be said with a thousand words.
Daniel had never been happier. He felt warm on the inside and loved and
accepted on the outside
Then, Travis tugged on Daniel's sleeve. "Daniel, the fire's about to go out."
Daniel, looking over and seeing that Travis was right, yelled, "I'll be right
back."
He returned with an arm load of magazines. They were all kinds of fitness and
muscle magazines. In the past, Daniel spent hours looking at these, not to
find
exercise techniques, but to look at the bodies pictures there, longing to look
like
them and mourning and loathing his own appearance.
"Travis, help me put these in the fire."
"No, don't throw these away." Travis pleaded. "These are cool."
"No Travis," Daniel insisted, "God has work he wants you to do and when he
made you, he made you just right to do it. These guys are nothing but skin,
bones, and muscle. But when Jesus finds us and comes to live inside of us, he
makes us real. Over time, he makes us more like Jesus."
Reluctantly, Travis put the last magazine on the fire. For several minutes,
they
both watched as the ashes rose and floated away.
Then, Travis tugged on Daniel's sleeve again. "Daniel, I want Jesus to find
me
too."
_______
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