Agent in the Dark

"Okay I'll make this quick. The first thing I would say is to have faith in God, but I know you already do and that's good! Very good, but there's a lot that goes with that. None of us are as good as we think we may be or can be on our own. None of us can earn heaven. It's a gift that we don't deserve, grace pressed down without measure from above. It all boils down to one thing Utah, never give up on your faith. I'm old and I've lived through more heartaches than I wished that I had to, but I have known joy in my path of following the Lord's will for my life. I am an old man, but I have fulfilled the Apostle Paul's urge to the church. I have pressed on towards the high call of Jesus Christ in my life and I finish the race with the honor of knowing that I am farther in my faith in my last hour than I ever have been before. I've fought hell in one form or another all my life and now finally the Father's reward is soon to be mine. Life is full of distractions Utah and they will confuse and cloud up the way before you, but if you stick to your faith, if you rely on your God to deliver you and show you the path that is straight, then one day you too can be where I am right now, full of days and at peace for what is to come next. I hope and pray that you have a lot of good living ahead of you, but don't ever lose sight of what is truly important to be accomplished in this life and that is a one on one personal relationship with God, who indwells each of us with the strength to live each day as it comes, until he calls you home to be with him in perfect unity."

Big tears slipped down Utah's face, "I want that! The peace I see in you is hard to find and even harder to hold onto! I always feel pressed beyond my capabilities and beset by past bitterness's, as I fail to live as free, as I desire to in faith!"

Shalako came away from the wall and pulled Utah's head to his shoulder with both arms, "It's like seeing myself fifty years ago to hear you speak right now! I know the self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy you struggle with Utah! They've long been my thorns in the flesh. Life won't get any easier and your struggles though bitterly fought won't go away, but God is enough! He is enough to outlast the battle by day and the bitter struggles of the night. He is enough to bring you through fifty years of it and more. We journey through this life, as foreigners in a strange land, until we find our promise land, a sure place of refuge from all adversity at the end of the journey. Utah, He is enough! Do you believe me?"