The Zella Chronicles

"I never thought of shyness as a problem." "My dear, even Abraham Lincoln and Roy Rogers were shy. If they had not conquered their shyness, the world would have been a very different place." "I see," she said, nodding her head. "If you think I can help, I would like to try." "Come with me," the Lord said as He held out His hand. Zella knew the way to Earth now, but she loved holding Jesus’ hand anyway. They zeroed in on the planet, California came into view, then James Lick High School. "This is Tilly," Jesus said, "And the girl at the table is Debbie. Both are shy for different reasons. If you help Tilly, Debbie will benefit as well." God gave Zella the knowledge she would need about each of their situations. Then, with a hug and a nod, Jesus vanished heavenward. Zella hovered over the Teenage girl. She watched as the girl struggled with herself. Tilly was standing near to Debbie, a girl whom she had seen in her math class. It was brunch break and the halls were crowded. Debbie sat at a table, her face covered with one hand, her back to the crowd, and to Tilly, it looked like she was crying. Should I try to comfort her, or does she want to be left alone? Zella materialized into the crowd as another teenager and bumped into Tilly, giving her a good push in the right direction. “Oh, excuse me!” Zella said. “I can be so clumsy, are you okay?” “I’m fine,” she nodded, “don’t worry about it, really, how about you?” “Me? I’m fine, just need to watch where I’m going, ha, ha. Well, see you around.” Zella turned and melted into the crowd. Tilly was now standing right next to Debbie and had bumped her slightly. She took a deep breath, steeled herself and reached out to the other girl, placing her hand on her shoulder. She had a sudden feeling of panic. What was her name? Oh, yeah, Debbie, that was it, Debbie Griffin. Tentatively she asked, “Debbie, its Tilly, are you alright? Is there anything I can do?” Debbie turned slightly and Tilly could see one red swollen eye and tear tracks down her check. “Why do you want to help?” This surprised Tilly, she said the first thing that came to her mind, “Why wouldn’t I want to help?” Debbie just shook her head.
36

Zella, invisible again, was doing her best to keep the conversation going by telling Tilly what to say. Tilly continued, pulling together a boldness she seldom expressed, “I don’t know what the problem is, but I can pray for you, if you like.” Debbie pulled out a tissue, blew her nose and surprisingly said, “Yes,” with obvious relief. She looked up at Tilly, “I would like that.” Tilly sat on the bench facing Debbie and covered the girl’s hands with her own. Bowing her head and closing her eyes she prayed, “Dear Jesus, you love every one of us and you know what we are going through. You have the power to do anything and we are asking you to touch Debbie right now; give her comfort, strength and direction. Bless her and her family, show them the way through their troubles and meet their every need, in Jesus name, Amen.” Not knowing what the problem was, she had tried to cover all the bases. They looked up at each other. Debbie now looked calm, and a little surprised. She rubbed her arms as if she were cold and said, “That was nice. Thank you, I do feel better now.”