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"Help! Stop! Somebody help me!"

"Eliza, wake up. You're having a bad dream."

But she kept on calling, twisting, turning, struggling.

"Eliza, Eliza, you're ok, I'm right here. Wake up! Come on now, open your eyes."

Wild-eyed, Eliza took in her surroundings. She wasn't at home. No one was beating her. She was in another foster home. When things got violent in her own home, she'd be placed in a foster home, then sent back home, then experience more violence, another foster home . . . over and over all her ten years.

Now, the lady seated beside her on the bed was gently stroking Eliza's long, auburn hair, all the while speaking softly and gently. "Want to talk about it?"

Eliza wanted to, but wasn't sure she could trust this stranger. She had been hurt so many times in the past, thinking a caregiver could be trusted but it always ended up the same way . . . another broken relationship.

She shook her head.

The lady smiled, bent over and kissed her cheek. "Would you like me to stay with you for a while?"

Eliza nodded.

Softly, the lady began to sing:

"Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so,
little ones to Him belong,
they are weak but He is strong."

Eliza's eyes fixed on the singer. "You SING about Jesus?"

"Yes," replied the foster mom. "Do you know about Him?"

"The only time I've heard that name is when somebody's drunk or on drugs, or really mad. Like when my mom and dad fight or there's a party at our place. Is Jesus real? Does He actually love people?"

Her shoulders sagged and she dropped her gaze. "He'd never love somebody like me - He couldn't!"

"You've been hurt really deeply, haven't you?"

Eliza nodded.

The foster mom continued. "People have done really bad things to you and you feel like nobody could ever love you?"

Another nod.

"Eliza, let me tell you a story about this Jesus. Want to sit up?"

The girl hesitated, but felt that this woman was different, she could be trusted, so, sitting up, she snuggled beside this fine lady who must be an angel.

"Eliza, so many people don't know the truth about this Jesus. They use His Name when they're angry, drunk or on drugs, just like you said. That is sad. But, Eliza, this Jesus is real, and. . . well. . . .let me read something from the Bible. Do you know about the Bible?"

"I saw one once at Grandma's but Dad got real mad when he saw me look at it. He said never to open it or touch it or else! And... two men came to our school, and gave all the Grade 5's a little red Bible but my Dad took it away from me and ripped it up. He said it was dangerous."

"Just a minute, I'll go get one." The foster mom went into the next room and returned with a Bible.

Eliza stared at the black book. "Are you sure this book is OK? Aren't you scared to open it?"

"No, dear, this book is perfectly safe. I've been reading it for years. Let me read some very good news. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

"Here's another one, The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. See, there's that name Jesus."

"But, that can't be the same Jesus that mad people say when they swear, is it?"

"Well, yes and no, but you see, Eliza, they don't know that Jesus can take away all their hurts and anger and fear and sin, and make them clean. They don't know that!"

"I don't understand," responded Eliza.

"This same Jesus is really God. He came to earth as a baby. That's why we celebrate Christmas."

"Let me continue. He didn't stay dead. Three days after He died, He rose from the dead. Forty days after that, He went back to heaven and will come again. That's what the Bible teaches. So, He is able to take away all our hurts, and our bad thoughts!"

"I didn't know that.."

"When He grew up he began to preach, heal people, and help them, but there were those who didn't like Him. So they had Him nailed to a cross."

"That's awful!"

"But, Eliza, that's not all. You see, Jesus really died because He loves us. If He hadn't, you and I could not go to Heaven. Jesus wants to take away your bad feelings, and make you clean and good on the inside."

"You mean He can do that for me? So I don't get those awful nightmares and - You mean He loves ME?" she asked breathlessly.

"He sure can and He sure does."

Eliza's foster mom led her in praying a simple prayer, asking Jesus to forgive her, and to heal her hurts and fears. This brought a great peace to her.

She lay back in bed as the foster mom pulled the covers over her, sighed, and a peaceful smile now replaced all the fear and panic Eliza had experienced earlier that night. She looked up at the kind foster mom, "Can I stay here forever?"

"I don't know. But it would be great to have you here."

"Will you sing that song for me again? My heart is singing it."

So her foster mom sang the chorus to the song that many boys and girls around the world love to sing:

"Yes, Jesus loves me, yes,
Jesus loves me, yes,
Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so."

Join the MAILBOX CLUB

If you are a boy or girl who would like to learn more about Jesus and His love for you, we want to invite you to sign up for our Mailbox Club. It is free to join, and there are two ways to do the lessons.

1. Send us your name and address and your age, and we will send you the first lesson or two so you can start. When you have fillled in the answer page, you fold it and put on a stamp and mail it back to us. It will come back graded with new lessons to do.

Print Name: .............................................

Mailing Address: .....................................

Town/City: ..............................................

Province: ............Postal Code:........................

Age:.......

Question or comments:

.....................................................................

....................................................................

....................................................................

....................................................................

...................................................................

-------------cut this panel and mail to:----------

Mailbox Club
Western Tract Mission, Inc.
401 - 33rd Street West
Saskatoon, SK. S7L 0V5 Canada

[Since you are on our website, use This Form to enroll right now!]

2. The other method is this; you can take these lessons on a computer if your parents or guardians allow you to go online. Visit UBDavid.org Click "Online Lessons" then on "Register New User." For Sponsor code, choose the line: "SLM Canada - Source of Light Canada." That makes you a student of SLM & Western Tract Mission. When you have confirmed who you are, you can start doing the lessons, and be graded immediately.

If you or your parents would like to look over the lessons and see what they are about before you take them, you can read up on them on our website, //WesternTractMisison.org/BL/

         

Jesus Loves Me is a Christian hymn written by Anna B. Warner. The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of a novel called Say and Seal, written by Susan Warner and published in 1860. The tune was added in 1862 by William Batchelder Bradbury who found the text of "Jesus Loves Me" in a book, in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child. Along with his tune, Bradbury added his own chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me..." After publication the song became one of the most popular Christian hymns in churches around the world. More recent verses written by many others can be found at this website: dltk-bible.com/jesus_loves_me.htm

Note: you may order this tract for a donation of 10 cents a copy, for your on distribution plans, or - you may click on this PDF file (Jesus-Loves-Eliza.pdf) which is the printer-ready edition we use to print this tract, and if you put legal paper into your printer, you should be able to print out copies of this tract for free.