SAPPHIRE II

Did you miss the first part of the story?

Click here to read Sapphire I

“Happy birthday to you;
Happy birthday to you;
Happy birthday Sapphire;
Happy birthday to you.”

The Andersons sang for their daughter immediately after the family devotion on the morning of September 11th.

“Thank you Mum and Dad. I really appreciate it.” She said bowing slightly.

“I can’t believe my princess is 8 years old just like that.” John Anderson said, holding his hands up in a form of an imaginary spectacle.

Sapphire laughed loudly, clutching her tummy as she did.

“Well, baby girl.” Her mother Megan started as she stood up to bring out a wrapped parcel from behind the sofa.

“Mum! Why is this so big?” She said making towards her mother.

“We know it’s small.” Her Father said with a wide smile on his face.

“Daddy, I don’t even know what is in there yet.”

“This is from both of us. Happy Birthday, Sapphire.” Megan said as she handed the big parcel to her and pulled her in for a brief hug.

“Thank you so much Mummy. Thank you Dad.”

“Can I open it now?” She asked excited.

“Well…” her Mum started as she looked at her father.

“Open it and tell us what you think about it.” John pointed towards the gift.

He and Megan watched as their daughter struggled with the gift. She tore at the material used to wrap it.

“Mum, this is heavy.”

“And why does this shape look strange? Hmm!”

She tore the wrapper and…

“Mum…It’s a Violin! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you” She screamed excitedly.

“How did you come up with this?” she asked dashing her eyelids at her father.

“Your Mother just didn’t stop talking about how she thought you would really love to play a violin.” He said shoving his shoulder up a bit.

“I notice the way you look at the Violinists in Church and I have realized that you have a special love for Don Moen’s songs because he is a Violinist.” Her mother added smiling.

“Mum! I love you.” She said rushing over to hug her.

“And me?” Her father asked feigning jealousy.

“I love you too Dad and Thanks.”

“You are God’s precious gift to us, Sweetheart. Don’t ever forget we love you.” Her mother said patting her back slightly.

“I won’t Mum.” She said looking up at her.

A thought crossed her mind. She smiled.

“And why that smile?” Her mum asked looking at her carefully.

“Well…” she laughed. “I just wondered if God could give me a gift too?”

John smiled at his daughter’s words.

“Well, I know he does things for me but maybe he could also give me something for my birthday.” She said with sincerity in her voice.

Megan laughed.

“You could ask him because God is faithful and he loves sincere people.”

“Okay. I will give it a try.”

“And let us know whatever happens.” John said.

“Okay.” Sapphire responded.

“Let us pray?” John said as Sapphire knelt down in front of them and he prayed for his daughter’s new age.

As they prayed, the 8 year old girl began to imagine how it would feel like to receive a birthday gift from God.

She just couldn’t wait to discover that.

---

Sapphire entered the garden happily.

She stopped for few minutes to take in her environment.

The only thing that caught her interest was a swing.

In few minutes she had positioned herself on it, using her weight to move it back and forth.

With each glide, the swing moved faster and higher.

“Hello Child.” A voice called out few meters from the swing.

She slowed down without answering but leapt off the swing suddenly.

She stopped to catch her breath as she stared at the man who now stood in front of her.

“Good afternoon Sir.” She said still breathing heavily.

“Such a wonderful place to relax.” He said as he took few steps away from the swing.

“Yes. This place reflects God’s work a lot. Isn’t God wonderful?” She looked at the man for a response.

“Of course, he is.” He replied as he looked around him with satisfaction.

“Walk with me.” He called out as he moved few steps again.

Sapphire trotted after him.

“Why is he so fast?” She thought as she tried to catch up with him.

“Shall I slow down then?” he asked to her amazement.

He looked back at her with a smile as she gazed at him in awe.

“Wow!” she finally said not finding the right words to describe how amazed she was.

“There is actually someone I know who is all knowing like this.” Sapphire said looking at him thoughtfully.

“No…” She shook her head quickly as she tried to walk past him.

“I’m not that special to him that he would show me things like this.”

He smiled.

“You are.”

“How can you know that?” she asked surprised.

“You shouldn’t doubt me after what happened minutes ago.”

“Well, Mum mentioned something one day about testing every spirit. I can’t just believe everything I hear.” She said with a serious tone.

“There goes Sapphire the good listener.” He laughed lightly.

“You know my name?” She stopped suddenly.

“Well to the reason for this visit. I have a gift for you.” He said with a face that made it difficult for Sapphire to figure out his mood.

“Wow, thank you.” She said as she stared at his hands to see something shining.

“I didn’t see that all this while.” She thought.

“But I’m not going to give you now.” He said to her surprise as He walked past her.

“But why Sir?” She asked walking after him quickly; not too pleased to hear he wasn’t giving her the gift.

He kept silent for sometime as they walked on.

“You aren’t fit to own the gift yet. You are presently like a man who lived many years ago.” He finally answered as her little mind tried to process his words.

“Okay. I don’t really understand but if I know the name of the man I could ask around about him.”

“No.” he said suddenly making her stop abruptly.

“Only your parents can know about this visit. They have some information about the man that will help.” He added quickly.

“Okay Sir.”

“Cornelius! That’s his name.” he said as he started to walk off.

“Cornelius?” she said as she started walking after him but he seemed to be becoming more faster with each step as the distance between them increased rapidly.

“And the gift?” she asked when she realized he was moving so fast and she definitely wouldn’t be able to do keep up with him.

“You’ll get it as soon as you do the right thing. Don’t forget to find out about Cornelius.” He said not shouting but she seemed to hear him clearly despite the wide distance between them.

“Go back home.” He commanded as she turned thoughtfully.

“Cornelius! Cornelius!” She muttered as she walked off.

---

Megan dropped the Christian Women magazine she was reading as she looked up at the wall clock.

It was 6:00pm. It was high time her daughter woke up from her siesta to do her homeworks.

She stood up from the sofa swiftly and went towards Sapphire’s room.

She opened the door to her daughter’s room, entered and closed it back softly.

She was still fast asleep.

Megan moved closer to her.

“Sapphire. You need to do your homework.” She said tapping her up to wake her.

“Sapphire!”

“Cornelius!” The girl muttered from her sleep.

Megan stopped for a minute.

“Cornelius!” She said again this time frowning her face thoughtfully from her sleep.

“A dream?” Megan thought as she tapped her daughter once more.

“Sapphire, wake up.” she called again sitting beside her gently.

“Yes!” her daughter replied as she opened her eyes.

“You need to do your homeworks.” Megan said tapping her again.

“Alright Mum.” She said still laying down but rubbing at her left eye furiously.

“It was a dream.” Sapphire said looking at her mum.

“Yeah. You were mentioning a name from your sleep. You want to talk about it?”

“Where is Dad?” she asked trying to sit up.

“He’s asleep. You prefer talking to him?” Megan asked surprised.

“No. I will tell you both.”

“Okay, you can tell us later then.” Her mother said as she moved to rise up from her bed.

“No, Mum. This is what I saw.” She began as she explained everything to her mum.

“So Cornelius is the key?” Megan asked after listening to her daughter.

“Yes. There is a lesson I need to learn from him.” Sapphire said nodding her head.

“First, Cornelius is a bible character.” Megan said.

“So I have to study the Bible then?”

“Its more than that. Why don’t you pray God leads us to the answer?”

“Mum, are you saying that man is Jesus Christ?” she asked gaping at her mum.

“I didn’t say that but I do know that dream is divine. What matters now is getting to know what you need to learn about Cornelius.”

“Okay, Mum. Thanks.” She said as her mother made to leave her room.

As soon as Megan stepped out of the room, she went straight to the room she shared with her husband to wake him up.

---

“What is the general thing we know about Cornelius?”

John asked his wife as soon as she had recounted everything to him.

“Cornelius was a devout man, he feared God and prayed to God always but he hadn’t done something that was important.” Megan replied.

“Which is why The Lord showed him a vision to send for Peter.” added John.

“There is something we have been missing out for a long time that the Lord is pointing out to us.” Megan said.

“How about we stop trying to use our head and go back to the scriptures.”

“Yes. Let me get our Bibles.”
Megan stood up and went towards their study Table to get their Bibles.

“It should be Acts chapter 10. I’m sure we’ll see something. The Lord will open our eyes.”

Thirty minutes passed as the couple studied the Chapter over and over again.

Knock! Knock!

“Mum!” Sapphire called from outside their door.

“Come in dear.”

She entered the room with her Bible and a jotter.

“I have been reading about Cornelius. Daddy, what if I’m like Cornelius.”

“What do you mean?” her Father asked.

“I’m not been boastful but like Cornelius I love God and I pray but maybe I haven’t done something important.”

“Which is?” her mother asked.

“I don’t know really but I feel you need to be to me who Peter was to Cornelius that day. You are the one to help direct me do what I need to do.”

John looked back at the Bible Chapter quickly as a Bible verse dropped in his mind.

“But we are all as an unclean thing , and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6.”

Understanding dawned on him.

“Sweetheart, I think I understand.” John said suddenly.

“Has Sapphire really ever given her life to Christ at one point of her life?” he asked his wife.

She didn’t respond.

“Isn’t she just religious and devout but not born again?” he asked again as his wife shook her head in understanding.

“We missed something this important. Lord, we are sorry.” Megan said soberly.

“Mum, does that mean if I had perhaps died I would still have gone to hell?” asked Sapphire in horror.

“Sadly, Yes. Good acts and religious activities cannot get one to heaven, only Salvation through Jesus Christ can.” her mother explained.

“Okay. So what do I do?” The young girl asked gently.

“Come and sit down here.” John patted the chair in front of him as she moved closer to him.

Megan prayed silently within her as her husband explained the importance of Salvation and confessing the Lord as her personal Lord and Saviour.

“So Saphhire, are you ready to give your life to Christ?” John asked his daughter.

“Yes, Daddy. I’m ready.”

“Thank you Jesus.” Megan said as her husband led their daughter to Christ.

“Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Dad.”

“Glory be to God. Sapphire no matter what happens remember God loves you. He didn’t let you keep giving yourself false hope becuse right now he is indeed your hope of Glory.”

Megan thanked the Lord silently for bringing the matter of Sapphire’s salvation to their attention. The religious activities wouldn’t have taken the young girl far and all their labour would have been futile.

Her future would have also been a mirage.

“For today, I will forever be grateful Lord.” Megan said soberly.

---

2 WEEKS LATER

“Oh how I love Jesus.
Oh how I love Jesus.
Oh how I love Jesus.
Because he first loves me.”

Sapphire played on her violin as she sang along.

She was sitting on her bed with her music notebook in front of her.

“I missed the last line again.” she said frowning slightly.

“It’s d r f m r d.” A male voice said gently in the room.

Sapphire looked up to see a familiar man standing and leaning on the door.

“Wow! The man who could read my thoughts. How did you get into my room?” she asked so happy to see him.

“Do you know music too?” she asked again without waiting for him to respond.

“Well I could go anywhere I want to anytime and I am so wise than you can imagine.” he replied walking towards her bed.

“Wow. So? How do I play the notes I keep forgetting.” she asked eager to hear more from him.

“Since you are playing on G major which is the fourth string, it should be this way.” He said as he collected the violin from her and played gently for her to see.

“You are the best!” she said as he handed it back to her.

“Let me see you play it now.” He said.

She smiled shyly as she carefully played the last line again under his scrutiny.

“You did well.” He nodded his head in approval.

“Thank you. I pray I don’t forget it again.” she said.

“Well, if you would ever forget anything about this song it wouldn’t be that line I just taught you.”

“Oh! Alright.” She said dropping the violin beside her bed.

She sat with her legs crossed as she looked at the man again.

She wished she could ask him who he was but she kept quiet.

“Here.” He said stretching out something to her.

Sapphire looked down at his hands to see the most beautiful spectacle she had ever seen.

It was made of pure gold and it was shining brightly.

“Wow! This is beautiful.” she said excitedly.

“Yes, it is. It has been with me for a long time and I have planned to give to you. I was waiting for the right moment for you to have it.”

“Me?” she asked .

“I don’t know how I will use it?”

“What if its stolen from me?”

“How can you trust me with this beautiful treasure?” she asked with shaken voice, dashing her eyelids furiously as she spoke.

“You will be taught how to use it as each day goes by.” he started as he spoke with gentle but firm voice.

“I have sent a teacher to you, he will guide you; he will teach you the right way to use it.”

“It won’t be stolen from you, if you don’t place it carelessly where the enemy will have access to it.”

“Treasure it but don’t treasure it above me.”

“Preserve it and don’t let it be dirtied in any way. You will soon realize what it means and you will know the right way to use it.” he concluded.

“Oh!” Sapphire said as she stretched forth her trembling hands to accept it.

He placed a hand on her shoulder as peace flooded her heart; with his other hand he placed the shiny object gently in her hands.

“It can never be blur if you use it cautiously. The Bible…” He said pointing to her Bible on her study table; “will remain a guide to you. Remember, don’t lose it; as this is a treasure that should be used the right way.” He said as the young girl listened.

“I don’t know what to say but thank you Sir. God will help me.” she said softly.

“Yes, he will definitely help you but my daughter, don’t refuse his help or take his grace for granted.” He said as he gave her a final pat on her small shoulder.

He turned around and walked towards the door.

Sapphire looked down to admire the rare treasure in her hands. She lifted up her head seconds later to discover he was gone.

“Thank you Jesus.” She cried out from within her as her body shook furiously.

---

“Thank you Jesus.” Sapphire voiced out from her sleep.

She looked at the wall clock. It was only 2am in the morning.

She looked at her Study Table and saw her Bible right where the man pointed to.

She looked around for her violin.

She saw it placed gently beside her bed.

Had she placed it there last night without knowing? She wondered.

She picked it up in a bid to find out something.

Since her paremts gifted her the violin she had only attended instrumental class thrice and hadn’t even started playing Musical Cords.

“Oh how I love Jesus…”

She played as the violin made unpleasant sounds.

She decided to jump to the last line.

“Because he first loves me.”

She sang as she played smoothly.

She stopped as she stared at her hands in awe.

She played yet again and yet there was no mistake.

Tears drooped down her tiny face as she dropped her violin and plopped down to her knees.

The little girl went back to sleep after praying for sometime.

“Good morning Sapphire.” her mother called out immediately she entered her room at daybreak.

“Good morning Mum.” Sapphire replied before she could close the door.

“Oh someone is awake already.” she said surprised to see her daughter reading at her table.

“Yeah, I woke up around 5:30am just like that so I did my morning devotion.” she said.

“I’m happy to hear that. Meet us in the living room for the family devotion.”

“Alright Mum.” she replied as she stood up from the chair.

---

“Mum, Dad I have something to tell you.” Sapphire said as soon as they ended their morning devotional prayers.

“Alright. We’re listening.” her mother replied.

Both parents listened as she recounted what happened during the night.

“Sapphire, have you realized you are a special girl?” her father asked as soon as she was done.

“Yes. Something like that.” she said silently.

“I pray you won’t fail God in Jesus name.” her father prayed.

“Amen. So God gave me my birthday gift?” she asked smiling.

“Yes. And we will have to find out how you are to make use of it and everything that comes along with it.” Her mother answered.

“Hmm. I guess you are right. Shall we just let God lead the way?” John said.

“Yes. Lets see what the Lord has in store for you.” her mother

Husband and wife looked at each other as a silent message passed between them.

God was trusting them to be of help to their young daughter. And has their eyes held each other for seconds, with determination in their hearts they decided they would do and give their best not to fail God.

---

Dear readers, thank you for deciding to learn more about our little friend.

Remember to drop your comments and thoughts on the story.

Shall we find out what events would begin to unfold after this?

Will her parents succeed in this special assignment that has been committed into their hands?

Watch out for SAPPHIRE III.

#ChildTrainingAndFamilyLife
#ChristianStoryteller
#PeculiarInspiro