Inspiring and Entertaining Writing - Writers International

Matthew 7
by Elizabeth Braden

The day of the fair dawned bright and clear. Annie was so excited she couldn't sleep, but she was also anxious. She knew that her failure hadn't been her fault, but she still felt guilty. It didn't help that others had been judging her and pointing the finger.

"You should have done this by now, you should have done that by now, why haven't you done this, that should have been organised a week ago …" She could still hear their accusing voices ringing in her head.

To make matters worse, she had been dumped by her partner, and now his mother was accusing her as well. Annie had tried so hard to do the right thing; she had even given encouragement when he took up with someone else … yet still she was plagued by accusations and rumours by people who should know better.

By 4am, Annie had realised that she wasn't going to get any sleep, so she decided to get up and do something useful. Last minute checking, making sure everything was ready for her part in the fair, shower, dress, organise things around the house, keep busy so tiredness doesn't come …

6:30am. The alarm rang, the alarm which would have woken her up had she managed to sleep the night before. Annie silenced the alarm, then set about getting herself ready. Breakfast, get dressed, brush hair, brush teeth …

7:15am. Annie put the cats outside, locked the front door, and walked up to the church hall where the fair was to be held. She had her box of things with her, everything was set. She was starting to feel better - she may have messed up everything else she was in charge of, but at least she had this one thing organised.

7:30am. Arrived at the church hall. Said hello to the coordinator, was greeted with the question, "have you organised a helper for your stall?" Negative. Accusing lecture, "you should have organised a helper ages ago …" Annie felt angry, but kept her voice calm and steady. "I was sick, remember?"

7:45am. The stall was set and ready to go. Oh no, here comes the mother of her ex … she starts to accuse Annie of all the things that Annie was rumoured to have done. Last straw!
"Look, I really think you should get all the facts before you go judging anyone! You call yourself a Christian? Whatever happened to 'judge not lest ye be judged?' What gives you the right to judge me?"

Annie knew that she had probably just fuelled the fire, but she had had enough of the rumours, the accusations, and the self-righteous Sunday Christians. God was the one who should judge, not them, and she'd had enough.

10am. The fair had started. The little kids loved her stall, it was fun for them. This made Annie smile. She loved little kids; their innocence, their forthrightness, the fact that they said what they thought. Kids don't judge, they go by their instincts, and Annie knew that kids loved her.

11am. The coordinator came and asked Annie to help her for a moment. Annie answered that she couldn't leave the stall unattended. Another lecture about how she was supposed to have organised a helper. The last straw!

"I was ill, unbalanced, psychotic! I was doing well not to hurt myself or others! You place this expectation on me, but you don't know what I went through! You've never had a mental illness, how DARE you assume you know what it's like. I did my best, and if that wasn't good enough, then TOO BAD!!!"

Annie felt bad for talking this way, but she was sick of these people who called themselves Christians and yet acted this way. Annie never judged anyone for just that reason; there is always a part of the story we just don't know, and by judging, we add unnecessary burdens to those who are already suffering.

4pm. The fair was finished. Annie collected her things, handed her takings to the treasurer, and left.

6:30am. The alarm rang, the alarm which would have woken her up had she managed to sleep the night before ... Annie silenced the alarm and sat up, realising that she must have fallen asleep after all, and the day had just been a dream. She got up, and set about feeding the cats and getting herself ready for the fair.

7:30am. Arrived at the church hall. Said hello to the coordinator, was greeted with the question, "have you organised a helper for your stall?" She answered that she hadn't, and the organisor said not to worry, and asked her to sell the drinks as well as her previously arranged stall. Annie agreed, and headed outside to set up her stall.

7:45am. The stall was set and ready to go. Oh no, here comes the mother of her ex … she asks if it's too early to buy a drink yet, then gives Annie a dollar when Annie said it should be okay.

11am. The coordinator came and asked Annie to help her for a moment. Annie asked a trusted friend nearby to watch her stall for a moment. Annie followed the coordinator, and was led on stage to be thanked along with the other committee members.

Annie felt good. Obviously, the previous negativity from the coordinator had come from stress, not judgement. She certainly wasn't judging Annie now! In that moment, Annie learned something about judging others - she realised that she, not they, had been the one guilty of judging.

4pm. The fair was finished. Annie collected her things, handed her takings to the treasurer, and left.


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Matthew 7 by Elizabeth Braden The day of the fair dawned bright and clear. Annie was so excited she couldn't sleep, but she was also anxious. She knew that her failure hadn't been her fault, but she still felt guilty. It didn't help that others had been judging her and pointing the finger. "You should have done this by now, you should have done that by now, why haven't you done this, that should have been organised a week ago …" She could still hear their accusing voices ringing in her head. To make matters worse, she had been dumped by her partner, and now his mother was accusing her as well. Annie had tried so hard to do the right thing; she had even given encouragement when he took up with someone else … yet still she was plagued by accusations and rumours by people who should know better. By 4am, Annie had realised that she wasn't going to get any sleep, so she decided to get up and do something useful. Last minute checking, making sure everything was ready for her part in the fair, shower, dress, organise things around the house, keep busy so tiredness doesn't come … 6:30am. The alarm rang, the alarm which would have woken her up had she managed to sleep the night before. Annie silenced the alarm, then set about getting herself ready. Breakfast, get dressed, brush hair, brush teeth … 7:15am. Annie put the cats outside, locked the front door, and walked up to the church hall where the fair was to be held. She had her box of things with her, everything was set. She was starting to feel better - she may have messed up everything else she was in charge of, but at least she had this one thing organised. 7:30am. Arrived at the church hall. Said hello to the coordinator, was greeted with the question, "have you organised a helper for your stall?" Negative. Accusing lecture, "you should have organised a helper ages ago …" Annie felt angry, but kept her voice calm and steady. "I was sick, remember?" 7:45am. The stall was set and ready to go. Oh no, here comes the mother of her ex … she starts to accuse Annie of all the things that Annie was rumoured to have done. Last straw! "Look, I really think you should get all the facts before you go judging anyone! You call yourself a Christian? Whatever happened to 'judge not lest ye be judged?' What gives you the right to judge me?" Annie knew that she had probably just fuelled the fire, but she had had enough of the rumours, the accusations, and the self-righteous Sunday Christians. God was the one who should judge, not them, and she'd had enough. 10am. The fair had started. The little kids loved her stall, it was fun for them. This made Annie smile. She loved little kids; their innocence, their forthrightness, the fact that they said what they thought. Kids don't judge, they go by their instincts, and Annie knew that kids loved her. 11am. The coordinator came and asked Annie to help her for a moment. Annie answered that she couldn't leave the stall unattended. Another lecture about how she was supposed to have organised a helper. The last straw! "I was ill, unbalanced, psychotic! I was doing well not to hurt myself or others! You place this expectation on me, but you don't know what I went through! You've never had a mental illness, how DARE you assume you know what it's like. I did my best, and if that wasn't good enough, then TOO BAD!!!" Annie felt bad for talking this way, but she was sick of these people who called themselves Christians and yet acted this way. Annie never judged anyone for just that reason; there is always a part of the story we just don't know, and by judging, we add unnecessary burdens to those who are already suffering. 4pm. The fair was finished. Annie collected her things, handed her takings to the treasurer, and left. 6:30am. The alarm rang, the alarm which would have woken her up had she managed to sleep the night before ... Annie silenced the alarm and sat up, realising that she must have fallen asleep after all, and the day had just been a dream. She got up, and set about feeding the cats and getting herself ready for the fair. 7:15am. Annie put the cats outside, locked the front door, and walked up to the church hall where the fair was to be held. She had her box of things with her, everything was set. She was starting to feel better - she may have messed up everything else she was in charge of, but at least she had this one thing organised. 7:30am. Arrived at the church hall. Said hello to the coordinator, was greeted with the question, "have you organised a helper for your stall?" She answered that she hadn't, and the organisor said not to worry, and asked her to sell the drinks as well as her previously arranged stall. Annie agreed, and headed outside to set up her stall. 7:45am. The stall was set and ready to go. Oh no, here comes the mother of her ex … she asks if it's too early to buy a drink yet, then gives Annie a dollar when Annie said it should be okay. 10am. The fair had started. The little kids loved her stall, it was fun for them. This made Annie smile. She loved little kids; their innocence, their forthrightness, the fact that they said what they thought. Kids don't judge, they go by their instincts, and Annie knew that kids loved her. 11am. The coordinator came and asked Annie to help her for a moment. Annie asked a trusted friend nearby to watch her stall for a moment. Annie followed the coordinator, and was led on stage to be thanked along with the other committee members. Annie felt good. Obviously, the previous negativity from the coordinator had come from stress, not judgement. She certainly wasn't judging Annie now! In that moment, Annie learned something about judging others - she realised that she, not they, had been the one guilty of judging. 4pm. The fair was finished. Annie collected her things, handed her takings to the treasurer, and left.
A note from the author I wrote this after my friend Carrie told me about some of the hassles she'd been having at church. Carrie is schizophrenic, and a lot of people expect her to act as though she has no illness at all. The thing with schizophrenics, though, is they have times when they don't think they way they should, and isolate themselves. Fortunately, everything worked out for Carrie in the end. Her stall at the fair went well, and she told me later that she was glad she had gone, because it was a good day.