Home Town Theater

     I was about nine years old when my sister, Carmen, who is 10 years older than me , worked in our small town theater.  Unlike most of the theaters of today, which are relatively small, this theater was huge.  It had a large stage from which the host of the show would stand and give away prizes at the Saturday afternoon matinees.
     There was a balcony with plenty of room to accommodate all of the children and parents that would come to the matinee.  The theater has a massive screen, and a gigantic red velvet curtain that covered the screen.  The red curtain would rise slowly as the lights began to dim and the movie would start.
     I had been to these matinees before with older family members.  This Saturday I was with my younger brother, Bob.
     Hansel and Gretal was the movie that day.  Carmen bought us some candy, then she lead us to some seats close to the front, where Bob and I settled in.  It was early, so the theater was almost empty.  Before Carmen left, she told us not to worry, she was going to be working near by.
     Bob and I were happy, excited and waiting for something good to happen.  People started to fill the theater.  Watching the people file in was even exciting, at first, but as the crowd and the noise level started to grow, Bob and I began to feel a little uncomfortable.  I kept looking for Carmen, waiting for her to rejoin us, I noticed Bob was doing the same.  Soon our excitement turned to fear.  "Where was she?"  We asked each other, "Why isn't she here, sitting with us?"  It seemed like we had been there for ever, and the longer we waited the worse we felt, until both of us in a panic, started to cry.
     A lady sitting near us asked if we were okay.  In tears, we told her that our sister was lost.  The lady took us by the hand and led us to the big door in the back of the theater.  She opened the door to the lobby, and there was Carmen, just outside the door, working.  We ran up to her, our faces wet with tears.  "Where were you?"  We asked.  "I've been right here the whole time," she answered.
     She had told us that she had to work, we knew it, but we let fear get a hold of us and take control.  She knew where we were, and if we would have just stayed in our seats we would have been fine.
     After she calmed us down, Carmen wanted to take us back into the theater, for the show.  We were still feeling fearful and upset, we didn't want to stay for the movie.  Our Dad came to take us home.
     Later that day, I felt stupid.  I had missed something that I would have really enjoyed, because of fear.  There was no real reason for it, everything was under control.  Carmen was there, she had told us what to expect, but because we didn't see her, we panicked.
     In Hebrews 13:5, God said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."  In the theater that Saturday afternoon, my brother and I were afraid because we thought Carmen had left us.  At times, as a Christian, I have had those same feelings about God.  It's those times that fear has had a chance to take control, and has kept me from good things that God had planned for me.
     On that Saturday afternoon, after all that had happened, Bob and I still had the choice to go back into the theater, and watch the movie.  We didn't.
     We can't always help feeling fearful, but we can remind ourselves that God is there with us.  And we can make the decision, not to walk away from the good things that are waiting for us.