The Unlocked Door

　　Think a minute…This is a true story about a young lady who got so tired of living with her strict parents that she ran away from home. But she soon found out that life was not easy on her own. She couldn’t find a job, and it didn’t take long for her friends to get sick of her living off of their kindness so they kicked her out. Well, this young 19-year-old girl got so desperate she decided to start making money by becoming a prostitute.

　　Years passed. Her father died. Her mother grew older. And the daughter’s life just got worse and terribly unhappy. But she still would not write or go home to see her mother. One day the mother heard that her daughter was seen in a certain part of town, so she went there looking for her daughter. She went to every store and cheap hotel asking to put a picture on their walls. It was a picture of herself, now a gray-haired woman. Beside her picture was this message to her daughter which simply said:  “I still love you! Please come home!”

　　Months went by and nothing happened. Then one day the daughter who was now very skinny and sick wandered into one of those hotels. You can imagine how shocked she was to see her mother’s picture on the wall of that dirty, cheap hotel. As she read her mother’s message to her she began to cry.

　　That night she started walking the many miles back to her home. It was early in the morning when she finally arrived at the front door of her parent’s house. She began to knock but the door was already open.  Afraid that someone had broken into her parent’s house, she ran inside and woke up the sleeping old lady and told her she had finally come home.  Mother and daughter began to cry as they held each other. The daughter said:  “I thought someone had broken open the door!”  But the mother shook her head and answered gently:  “My dear, from the day you left I’ve kept the door unlocked.”

　　You know, it does not matter to Jesus Christ what wrong things you’ve done or how badly you’ve lived.  The moment you decide to turn to Him and ask His forgiveness, He will always accept you and give you another chance. Jesus is the One Who will enable you to start a new life all over again, but this time living His way with Him in charge.  He said that’s the only way you’ll ever have real love, peace of mind, and satisfaction that lasts.   Just Think a Minute…