Still basking in her leisurely morning before classes, Kate entered through the sunroom door of her family’s lavish mansion-like home, with its long spiral staircase, twenty foot vault ceilings and huge foyer, after sunning herself near the pool and watching her father's garden workers tend his sprawling vegetable garden; covering half an acre of the family’s two acre property, while clutching her sister’s cherished navy blue bathing suit cover.

"What are you doing with that, that’s my favorite; most expensive cover! I know I said you could borrow it once a week, but I changed my mind. You’ll ruin it. You’re always spilling stuff, like your coffee this morning!" Natalie shouted, as she tugged harder and harder on her navy blue, diamond studded, mesh bathing suit cover; hurting her sister’s sun-burned hands.

“That’s crazy, you know you can trust me with your things. When have I ever ruined any of your things?” Kate shrieked, as she tugged harder and fell back a little; winning the tug of war. Then she glared at Natalie as she shoved the beautiful, two hundred dollar swimsuit cover into the base of a huge floor plant near where they were arguing in the sunroom.

"Now you got dirt all over it!" Natalie screeched, as she retrieved her treasured cover out of the planter. Violently shaking it. Then she took off screaming up to her bedroom and slammed the door.

"What do you think's going on with those girls now? Their brothers sure don’t act like this!" their mother finally exclaimed to her husband, as his head slowly emerged out of the refrigerator.

"I guess one of us should go up there and find out," he replied.

"Which one of us did you have in mind pray-tel."

"All right, I'll go," he said, as he turned and faced the staircase, took a deep breath, said a little prayer and bravely, but quite slowly marched up each step like he was in a military setting and he knew what he had to do and how hard it would be to pull off.

"And try not to take too long; I put cereal on the table, and I’d like to be able to say Grace….. and I'd like us to all be together....." requested his wife.

"Yeah, I'll do the best I can," he replied. Walking slowly to their rooms; he rehearsed what he would say, but then he just started hollering, "Listen girls," as he marched, quickly now down the hall to their bedrooms. "I wanna have a word with you both," he said; knocking on their doors. Both girls emerged with confused expressions of impatience and irritation.

"Come on, we'll go into my bedroom and have a little chat," their father said; leading the way.

Natalie and Kate followed after their father; shooting one another angry looks.

"Sit down girls," he said, when they finally made it all the way down the hall to their parents' bedroom. "Your mother and I have noticed a huge increase in you girls fighting. What's the problem?"

"Nothing," Natalie muttered, as she stared down at her high fashion stilettos

"Well, Dad if you must know, Natalie and I were fighting over her navy designer swimsuit cover, the mesh one with the real diamond studs. She usually lets me borrow it; especially on Mondays, but today, out of nowhere, she just changes her mind," Kate whined.

"Yeah but aren’t you leaving out the part about how you wanna borrow it on Mondays because there are certain Monday guys you want to notice you. And ANYWAY, that's not what we were really fighting over, and YOU KNOW IT KATE!" Natalie responded, in a high pitched squeal, their dad was not expecting.

"Okay, you don't have to shout," he replied, with his hands over his ears. "It's time you girls close your mouths and open your ears. Listen to me, you have to learn to communicate lovingly, rather than having these shouting matches. That's the mature, responsible and godly thing to do and you both know that full well," he insisted.

"Hmmm," replied Natalie; looking into her sister's eyes for her reaction.

"Sorry Nats," Kate replied; running toward Natalie; her arms flailing.

The girls hugged for what seemed to their father for, well, longer than they ever did before. He walked out of the room and went to search for his wife, as he always informed her immediately of any and all developments within the household; especially those things especially challenging.

As soon as her father was out of sight, Natalie whispered, “Let me go Kate!”

“Well I got him to shut his piehole didn’t I?” Kate replied; taking a step back. Then they both rolled their eyes when they heard their father yelling from down the hall:

"Come down for breakfast. Your mother wants us all to eat together and say Grace. Then finish getting ready for classes this afternoon, and remember, remote learning tomorrow," just before he appeared in the doorway of his own bedroom, where his wife Grace was waiting for him.

"The girls and I just had a little talk," he began explaining.

"Oh, that's good Jack, how did it go?" 

Jack nervously replied: "Great!, yeah great.......I reminded them that they have to approach these things with care, compassion and patience. I explained to them that they were forgetting to include God, well that's what I meant to say, what I actually said was I know that they know that they ought to remain godly.......anyway, I think I got through to them."

"That sounds great Jack! Girls, breakfast!” she shouted up the stairs; leaning sideways.

‘Then Jack decided to find the boys: Jonah age seven, and Joshua age fourteen. "I haven't seen those kids yet this morning, plus I'll tell them their mother has cereal on the table," he mumbled, as he quickly made his way back down the hall.

Jack knocked on Jonah’s door, while slowly opening it to find him reading both of his children’s Bibles. 'Oops, I guess I picked a bad time, but it sure is great to find my seven year old reading Your Word Lord,' he said to the Lord. Next he knocked on Joshua’s door. He peered in and found him also reading his children’s Bible. Jack quickly walked back to his bedroom. 'I guess cereal can wait,' he thought. He and Grace took comfort in their boys' faith in God.

"Well the boys are reading, so let them be," he told his wife.

"Great. I guess breakfast will have to wait..." 

Several weeks passed with no improvement in Natalie and Kate's behavior; their relationship unraveling, until their mother decided to have a little chat with them one rainy Saturday morning. After much searching, she finally found them lounging in the game room; sitting casually on the pool table. She mustered her courage and then she began:

"I know your dad talked to you two about getting along a few weeks ago, but ever since then, you two seem to be worse than ever! Now what's going ON? What's really at the core of this constant battling?"

"Well, if you must know MOM, it's because of you and dad and Jonah!" Shrieked Kate, in a fit of rage.

"What about Joshie? Grace replied.

“Oh, well Josh is cool, you don’t see him with his face buried in his school books, and then the Bible right after that like Jonah!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about; Joshie reads his Bible every morning,” her mother replied.

“Well NOT anymore, cuz I just had a little talk with him, and he said he doesn’t believe anymore,” Kate screeched.

Grace felt her heart sink even more deeply in her chest and just when she felt the Lord’s comfort arrive, she was slammed again by her oldest, Natalie:

"Kate and I are sick of hearing about GOD this and GOD that! We’re tired of pretending to believe when you nag us about church and the way you insist on giving Dad’s workers free vegetable PLUS a paycheck! You always have to be these ‘good deed doers!’ And insisting we say grace every night! It was fine when we were kids, in fact, you didn't talk nearly as much about God back then, it's much worse now.....and WELL we’re grown up now and those fairy tales just won't fly okay? So cut it out MOM and please give Dad that message from us too; right Kate?" Natalie shouted; shooting her sister a secret smile.

"Yeah, we are sick of it Mom. Just leave us alone and stop talking about God OKAY?" Kate shouted, in a way more rude and vicious than Grace could recall her ever behaving.

"Okay," she meekly replied as she slowly turned and walked away. With big tears pouring down her cheeks; she walked slowly back upstairs to find her husband. 'I guess it must have been the school system that has stolen their faith..... Wow, I guess we better start homeschooling both the boys before it’s too late! Oh Lord I can't believe it....Please help us Lord. This is devastating to find out. Jack will be crushed too."

Later that night, Grace sat up in bed; doing her nightly Bible reading, and she happened upon Jesus' Parable of the Ten Virgins. 'This parable is an illustration of the separation of good and evil that God is doing now in these End Times. The five that had oil in their lamps were Christ followers; ready for the Rapture. And, likewise, the five that didn't have oil in their lamps were not ready.... "And the door was shut," she said out loud, as she gently laid her Bible on the nightstand.

"Please God, help us! I never thought this could happen, I never realized it was something to watch out for or anything. My heart is broken and now I will pray for my kids to find YOU until my last breath. If there is anything I can say or do, please show me Lord. I also understand that they have free will and I do have to respect that, as hard as that is" she prayed.

Then she got up and began to wander around her large and beautiful split level ranch style home; remembering the many Christmases she had the girls help her put the baby Jesus in His Cradle and all the laughter around the dinner table in their lovely formal dining room, and not just on the holidays. She wandered into the dining room and began to run her hand over the tops of the chairs. She sat down in one of them and examined the back part of one next to her. She started looking more closely at the top design of the chair. In the curve of top, under that groove, was a design that could be described as a crown. "How interesting. I never noticed how much these markings look like crowns" she said out loud; flicking on the light.

It’s interesting, there’s six of us and we’re evenly split: three of us believe and three of us don’t. We have six chairs in this set. I wonder if it’s a sign that we will all end up believers; counted worthy at the time of the Rapture. Could this mean that we will all end up being saved.....I hope so, but the girls sound so full of anger, rage and even hatred toward You Oh LORD and now they’ve convinced their brother Joshua to join them in their atheism. I wonder if these crown-like markings have any meaning, maybe not of course, but I can't help but wonder. Maybe they're a symbol of hope, but I really pray they're a sign Lord, that we all end up being saved in time for the Rapture…….It really does remind me of the Parable of the Ten Virgins….

I will pray about this till You come and take us oh Lord.......All of our wealth and material things don't mean anything if our kids are going to end up lost and have to go through the Tribulation! I’m so glad we obeyed You Lord and blessed our devoted, under-privliged garden workers with free vegetables....I’m so glad we believe! Please lead me to anything I can do to help lead our children to You Oh Lord, AMEN.”

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS (Matthew 25:1-13)

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

THE RIGHTEOUS WILL RECEIVE CROWNS

Revelation 3:11 – “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

THE FIVE CROWNS OF SALVATION

1). THE INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 KJV

2). , THE CROWN OF REJOICING

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” 1 Thessalonians 2:19 KJV

3). THE CROWN OF LIFE

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12 KJV  

4). THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8 KJV

5). THE CROWN OF GLORY

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 1 Peter 5:1-4 KJV

KJV, NKJV

SUGGESTED CLASSROOM STUDY:

Symbolism is used to make the message more hard-hitting. Re-read the story and note what symbolism is used and what messages are conveyed through that symbology.

1). What does Kate’s lounging by the pool represent? And also her watching her father’s workers in the family’s vegetable garden?

2). Do you see any symbology in the way that, despite the repeated attempts to gather the family, they never do get to the breakfast table? And remember, no breakfast means no thanks will be offered to the Lord.

3). What symbolism is used in the names of the characters? What about their last name?

4). Do you see anything symbolic in their house or their wealth?

5). What about the girls' constant bickering? What about their unbelief, cruel attitude and sense of entitlement?

6). What does the boys quietly reading the Bible represent?

7). What do you think is symbolic about the long hallway?

8). What do you think will happen with Joshua’s faith and why did he turn his back on his faith?

9). Discuss the symbology regarding the numbers used.

10). What godly concepts and future events do you think the garden represents?

11). Have students write an essay or the teacher make a test on the symbolic nature of this story. Be sure to connect the Biblical meaning with the symbolism used.  

Linzy is a certified Bible Counsellor, with countless republications on her viewers blogs, Bible Studies, Ezines and the like. Her portfolio includes, non-fiction articles, short stories for all ages, and Christian poetry.