Gracie was a bit of a competitive girl. She was on the track team and often won the races. She helped out in the school office because she was the best typist at her school. Her grades were top of the seventh grade. She sang lead alto in the chorus. All her classmates liked her because she was kind to them, and encouraging.
Alana, Gracie’s best friend, asked her if she planned on entering the school talent show. First place price was $75. Gracie wanted to enter.
Gracie had entered last year, but didn’t win. In fact, she had tripped and fell on her way off stage. It embarrassed her so much she thought her reputation would be ruined forever. This year, Gracie thought, would be different. If she could win, she would feel so much better about the entire event. It wasn’t the prize money she was after, but redemption.
“I am going to sing again,” Gracie replied to Alana.
“Good for you, Gracie. That’s brave.”
“It will feel good to win. I’m going to practice every day. I don’t think I could take it if I lost again. I think I would just die,” Gracie exclaimed. “I know one thing for sure—I will not trip over my own feet again.” She laughed.
“Well, I’ll help you in any way I can,” said Alana.
“Thank you!”
Gracie practiced and practiced. She picked out her best outfit for the contest and got her hair done. On stage, she sang her heart out. She sounded so fantastic she received a standing ovation. Brett Flagg, an eighth grader who sang tenor in an also wonderful performance, got a standing ovation as well. So did Keesha Johnson, eighth grader. Keesha did an amazing drumline solo. This had Gracie worried because not only was it an incredibly talented performance, but Keesha was also extremely cool. Gracie believed herself to be pretty cool, but not as cool as Keesha. She thought about it obsessively the entire day. If she won, she would be considered as cool as Keesha Johnson.
After school that day, Gracie was in the office finishing up some filing for the Vice Principal when she saw the pile of votes, neatly separated, laying on the desk. Sure enough, the three biggest piles were Gracie, Brett, and Keesha.
Gracie just stood there staring at the piles. She felt herself warm up. Her face went flush. “A few votes might help,” she thought. “Nobody would know the difference.” She did it. Quickly.
She took a few votes from Brett’s pile and a few from Keesha’s pile, scribbling out their boxes and marking hers instead, then tucking them into the middle of her own pile. Six extra votes for Gracie! She had never before done anything like that. Cheating wasn’t her style. Gracie then immediately went back to work filing and pushed her action out of her mind completely—not thinking about it at all.
The following morning, at the end of the announcements, the principal spoke through the loud speaker. “Now, the talent show winners. Second place, with a prize of $25 goes to Keesha Johnson.” Students clapped. There was no third place. So, Gracie knew, first place was between Brett and herself. “First place winner of the Kennedy Middle School Talent Show Competition is...” the principal paused for effect before continuing. “Gracie Robinson!”
Gracie felt elated! Everyone clapped and congratulated her, patting her on the back, smiling, giving her hugs. All that praise lasted throughout the entire day. Gracie was so happy she ran home to tell her parents. They were very proud of her. Gracie put the $75 winnings in her piggy bank.
The next day Alana approached Gracie in the hallway. She had excitement in her eyes. “I have a great idea!” she exclaimed.
“What?” Gracie asked, curious.
“You should run for class president, and I will be your campaign manager,” she announced enthusiastically.
“Really?” asked Gracie. “You think so?”
“For sure!” said Alana. “You are talent show winner—we can use that as our slogan! I’ll make signs and help you put together our campaign.”
“Hmm. That sounds kind of fun,” said Gracie.
“So, you’ll do it?”
“Yes!” replied Gracie.
For the next two weeks, Gracie walked the halls seeing posters of herself. They declared Our Talent Show Winner for President. Vote for Gracie! She will vocalize our wishes true. Some posters were more simple, showing a first place ribbon with the words Gracie for Class President. Alana sent out positive texts and social media posts promoting Gracie and prompting all classmates to vote for her. As she walked down the hall handing out sparkly pins shaped like a dandelion wish, she asked each student to vote for Gracie. Alana truly was an excellent campaign manager.
But, with each new promotion Alana put out, Gracie started to feel the excitement dim, rather than increase. This was unlike her. Gracie usually loved the attention. She even did well in the debate. But, she could not figure out why she wasn’t happy and hopeful to become class president. She started to care less and less about what people thought of her.
One day she had a bathroom pass out of her classroom near the eight grade hallway. When she walked into the bathroom she saw Keesha Johnson washing her hands.
“Hi, Gracie!” said Keesha.
“Hi, Keesha,” Gracie replied.
“Are you excited for the big vote tomorrow?”
“A little bit,” Gracie replied.
“Well, don’t be nervous. Your opponent was pretty good in the debate, but your campaign is much better, I think.”
“You do?” asked Gracie.
“You'd have my vote,” said Keesha.
“Thank you, Keesha.”
After Gracie went back to class she started to feel a stomach ache. She asked to be dismissed to the nurse’s office so she could go home early. She had to stop in the main office on her way out to tell them she wouldn’t be helping out after school that day. It was there that Gracie saw bright yellow voting slips neatly stacked up on the counter beside a wooden box with a slit in the top—the same wooden box used in the talent show.
Gracie had a sudden realization: She did not deserve to win the election. As she tried to grasp the extent of her guilt, she became very pale. The Vice Principal noticed this and guided her to sit down on a nearby chair.
“I was just coming by to tell you I’m going home sick and can’t help in the office today.”
“You most certainly can not, dear. You are as pale as a ghost! Did you eat today?”
“I had lunch, and the nurse gave me salty crackers and soda,” Gracie replied.
“Is your mom picking you up?” asked the Vice Principal.
“My dad is probably out in the parking lot already, we don’t live far from school,” Gracie replied.
“Good. I will walk you to the doors. What did the nurse say?”
“I don’t have a fever.”
“Well, that’s good. Maybe it was something you ate. Did you have a school lunch?”
“No. I brought my own.”
“Here we are,” she the Vice Principal as they reached the doors and looked out the windows.
“That’s my dad. Thank you.”
“Feel better, Gracie!”
But Gracie did not feel better right away. In fact, when she got home she went to bed and cried into her pillow. She felt terrible. Nobody knew she messed with the talent show ballot, moving votes to her favor. But, she herself knew. And, she was finally beginning to realize how very wrong it was to have done that.
When her mom got home from work she checked on Gracie, feeling her forehead and bringing her water.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come downstairs for some soup and a movie?”
“No. Thank you. I’m tired. ”
“Okay. Well, if you don’t feel better by morning we will go to the doctor.”
Gracie nodded, okay, and rolled over. She thought about telling her parents what she had done, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. This made her feel even worse.
“Dear God, I’m such a wimp. A loser. A cheater,” she thought. “Please, God,” she prayed, “Help me!” She cried into her pillow some more. “I feel like a horrible person. I cheated at the talent show and now it’s snowballed into an even bigger lie. And Keesha was so nice to me. She has no clue how uncool I really am.”
As Gracie’s confused mind drifted off into sleep, she said, “I don’t know what to do. Please forgive me, God.”
Gracie found herself on a large, wooden raft drifting across a gigantic pool. She was dreaming. It was a sunny day everywhere except above her raft. A dark, black storm cloud twirled, hovering, casting a wide shadow down upon her area of the pool. She felt sad and scared and alone. Drizzle fell from the cloud, causing a mist all around her and blending with her tears. Soon she could not even see the sun shining on the water in the distance. Only a dim light.
Out of the dim light a figure appeared. A man, walking on water, slowly toward her. His presence was peaceful, not threatening at all. As he came closer, her sadness turned into curiosity, but she still felt fearful of the dark cloud looming above them.
He glowed white. He was holding light in his hands. As the figure came closer, Gracie recognized him. It was Jesus.
“You found me,” said Gracie.
“I am always with you, my child,” said Jesus. With these words the cloud above them stopped twirling, but remained dark, looming.
“I need help,” said Gracie, crying.
“I am here to help,” said Jesus.
The cloud above turned from black to gray. “I cheated and my life at school is a complete lie. I do not deserve your help.”
“Do you know who I am?” He asked.
“You are Jesus Christ, right?”
“I am.”
“But. I...”
“You are worthy, child. I am the light inside you.”
“I don’t feel any light. I am sorry. Will you forgive me?”
“Will you welcome the light?” He asked.
“I will,” replied Gracie with a sniffle.
“You are forgiven, dear. You are a child of God, and I will always be with you, no matter what kind of battles you face.”
The gray cloud lightened and the shadow wasn’t as dark.
“I will give you a gift to remember my love, to help you not make the same mistakes, to remind you that courage comes from faith,” He said, holding out his hands full of light.
Gracie took hold of the gift. The light faded to reveal what it was she held in her hands.
“A headband?” It was very pretty, with inlaid, sparkling white stones.
“Yes. It is armour for you.”
“Armour? Is it magical?”
“It is,” Jesus replied.
Gracie pulled her hair back and placed the headband on her head. Above her, part of the cloud opened up and the sun shined through, casting a beam of light strait down to Gracie. She felt it. Safety. Love. Warmth. Comfort. Courage and Joy.
“Thank you, Jesus,” she said. The gray cloud dispersed completely and the sun shined down on the entire pool. Beautiful land in the distance sparkled with flowers and other plant life.
“You are a child of God, and I love you,” said Jesus.
“I love you, too.”
Gracie awoke from her dream. She sat up in bed. It was nine o’clock at night. She lay there for a while, thinking about her dream of Jesus. She felt new.
Gracie wasn’t confused any more. She knew she had to return the prize money from the talent show, confess her act of meddling with the votes, and drop out of the election. Still, she was grateful it wasn’t morning, yet. She needed some time to get used to the fact. People would be mad. Some would hate her. But she had to do it. And she would. She just needed to focus on God.
A light knocking at her door sounded. Gracie’s mom walked in to check up on her. “How are you feeling, honey?”
“Better,” replied Gracie.
“Would you like something to eat?” she asked, walking toward the bed to feel her daughter’s forehead for a fever.
“Yes. But first I want to tell you and dad something.”
“Okay. Oh, here. Do you want this headband?” her mom asked, handing her a headband that looked exactly like the one Jesus had given her in her dream, except that it didn’t glow with white light.
“Um,” Gracie replied, surprised.
“Don’t look so shocked, honey. They aren’t real diamonds.”
“Thank you, Mom. Where did you get it?”
“I stopped at a store during my lunch today and saw it. I thought you might like it.”
“I love it.”
Her mom patter her leg. “I’ll bring you up something to eat.”
“That’s okay. I’ll be right down.”
“Okay, honey,” her mom replied, exiting.
Gracie went to her mirror and placed the headband on her head. She had a vision of it glowing purple, then white. As the light around her head dimmed and the vision faded, Gracie felt a peacefulness and love embrace her. She knew God was with her. She knew she could think like a child of God and this faith would giver her courage. She took this courage with her downstairs..
Gracie told her parents all about the trouble she had caused herself. She promised to give back the money and apologize not only to Keesha Johnson, but to Alana, too, and to the whole school.
Her parents were proud of her for having learned a lesson and fessing up. They hoped she would follow through the next day with her promise.
With her headband on and the strength of God with her, Gracie walked into school the next day. She did just as she said she would. It was difficult, but she was brave—accepting the help of God who gave her courage. She managed through it all. It was very emotional because she felt so sorry.
Although many kids were angry with Gracie, they eventually forgave her because she told the truth.
The End
Gracie by Celia Blake
From A-Z Bedtime Stories, a collection of short stories with a spiritual spin. The full collection can be purchased from the link on our home page. Thank you for reading!
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