* I will also be posting these stories under the creative writing section as well

(I have spent the last four or five months working on a deeply personal research topic. Now, somehow, it has metamorphized several times...until finally it has turned into a short story about a real biblical account.  Even after I wrote it, I wasn't satisfied with it. I broke it down, started over...and did more research...more digging. Finally I reassembled it only to then break it into five separate sections...each one building upon the previous...each one propelling the reader forward. I am finally ready to share it with everyone here...but I will do so section by section. Thank you in advance for reading it, and I pray that you draw as much encouragement from reading...as I have from preparing it.)

One Heart

A Journey Beyond Borders to Worship Jehovah

Part One--The Invitation Nobody Expected

Research Note: This account is drawn from 2 Chronicles 30:1 27, when King Hezekiah invited all Judah...and even the surviving tribes of the northern kingdom...to come to Jerusalem for the Passover. For deeper background, see the NWT Study Bible notes on 2 Chronicles 30 and Insight on the Scriptures under “Hezekiah” and “Passover.” The Bible Encyclopedia entry for “Chronicles, Books of” also gives historical context for Hezekiah’s reign and the political tensions of the time. These resources help us picture the courage it took to cross political borders and the unity Jehovah blessed with “one heart” (lev echad).

“Sometimes the most dangerous road you can take is the one that leads you back to Jehovah.”

The spring air in Manasseh carried the scent of barley and the faint tang of sheep pens. Eliab knelt in the courtyard, mending a cracked water jar, when the sound of hoofbeats broke the afternoon stillness.

Two men rode into the village, their tunics dusty, scrolls tucked under their arms. They dismounted and began reading aloud in the marketplace:

“Return to Jehovah… come to His sanctuary in Jerusalem… He will not turn His face away if you return to Him.”

The words hung in the air for a heartbeat...then the crowd erupted.

“Jerusalem?” a man barked. “That’s their city, not ours!” “They think we’ll bow to their king?” another scoffed. A woman muttered, “We have our own altars. We don’t need theirs.”

Eliab’s neighbor, Hador, spat on the ground. “You’d have to be a fool to go. You’ll be branded a traitor before you reach the border.”

But Eliab’s mind drifted to his grandfather’s voice, telling of Solomon’s temple...the gold, the singing, the smoke rising like a pillar to heaven. He remembered the way his grandfather’s eyes would shine when he spoke of the festivals, of the unity of all Israel before the split.

That night, Eliab sat by the fire with his wife Tirzah. Their children, Asa and little Noa, slept nearby. “They’ve invited us to Jerusalem,” he said quietly. Tirzah looked up sharply. “You’re not thinking...” “I am.” Her brow furrowed. “Eliab, you know what they’ll say. You know what they’ll do. And what if the Assyrians see us crossing south? They’ll think we’re plotting with Judah.” He stared into the flames. “Maybe they will. But this isn’t about Judah. It’s about Jehovah.”

The next morning, as they packed bread, figs, and water skins, Hador appeared at the gate. “You’re really going?” he asked, incredulous. Eliab tightened the strap on his pack. “Yes.” Hador shook his head. “Then may your God protect you...because your neighbors won’t.”

As they stepped onto the road south, Eliab didn’t know that the first challenge to their unity wouldn’t come from Judah...it would come from someone walking beside them.