continued telling her about the children at the mission as she drew up some patterns for the queen puppet’s outfit. They had made her out of an old stocking stuffed for a head, sewed to a piece of cloth for body and arms.
“Tommy used to steal fruit from the market.” She spoke as she cut and sewed. “One night, he decided to break into the mission. He must have heard there were all kinds of things in it—food and books, even toys. Well, I hadn’t been able to sleep that night, and I had come downstairs because I was going to fix myself a cup of tea. I heard the sound of shattering glass.”
“Were you frightened?” Rebecca’s gaze was riveted to Althea’s face.
“A little, perhaps. I had known someone eventually would try to break in. You see, the house is in a part of London where there are many poor people.”
“Is it like Mayfair?”
Althea shook her head. “No, not on the outside, at least. The houses are old and haven’t been kept up. Many are boarded up because all the windows have long been broken. At night people shut themselves up because they are afraid of those around them.”
“Why do you live there? Is it because you are poor, too?”
“No, dear. I have great riches.” She smiled. “Like Esther.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Are you a queen?”
Althea laughed. “No, though sometimes I feel like a princess. My riches are invisible most of the time. But even though you cannot see them, they are more precious than all the gold in the world. And so, like Esther who knew God had sent her to help her people, I, too, want to share my riches with those who need them.”
“What are your riches like?”
Althea pursed her lips. “They bring life, for one thing. They bring freedom from fear. They bring joy.”
“How did you get these riches?”
“By believing in God’s goodness.” Althea hesitated. “By believing God looked down from Heaven and saw all the poor people—even some people who seem to be rich, even people who live in palaces—and felt compassion on them because they didn’t have any of these true riches. So, He decided to give them of these riches. He decided to send the very best of Himself to them, and if they received Him, they would receive these true riches.”
Rebecca pulled her coverlet up, excited by the story. “Did it work? Did the people believe?”
“Some did, but others didn’t. Some became so angry they killed the gift God sent.”
“Oh,” breathed Rebecca. “Then what happened?”
“Well, that was many hundreds of years ago. Since then, God has asked those who believe to share the riches with others who haven’t heard. It’s gone on from there. God sent me to that part of London, for example, to show these children and the grownup folks around them how much He loves them and wants them to have these riches.”
“Why did you come here, then? Do people here need these riches, too?”
Althea smiled, touching Rebecca’s cheek. “People everywhere need them. I know God sent me here to meet you and let you know He loves you.”
Rebecca’s thin hand came up to Althea’s. “I’m glad He sent you.” She lay quietly for a little while. “Do you think Papa knows about these riches?”
“I don’t know, dear. Perhaps he doesn’t think he needs them.” She added after a moment, “Sometimes people are afraid to believe in God.”
“Why would they be?”
“I think they believe God might ask them for something, and they are afraid to give it.”
“My grandmama is afraid of God.”
“Is she?”
Rebecca nodded then smiled. “She’s always saying, ‘God forbid’ and ‘The evil eye spare me.’ She puts things around the house and on the doors to ward off the evil eye. I always imagine God’s big eyeball staring at me from the ceiling, looking to see who might be doing something wrong.”
“God’s Word tells us to ‘fear God,’ but I think the meaning is a little different from the one your grandmama has taken.”
“How do you mean?”
Althea pondered how best to explain it. “Think of how you feel about your papa. You love him?”
Rebecca nodded.
“And you know he loves you?”
A more vigorous nod.
“You respect him?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You respect him because you love him, isn’t that so, and not the other way around? You don’t love him because you respect him.”
Rebecca thought about it. “You mean, I respect him because of my love for him, and not that my love comes because I respect him?”
“Exactly. Now, do you fear your papa?”
Rebecca giggled. “No, I’m not afraid of him!”
“Have you ever seen him angry?”
Rebecca screwed up her face. “I don’t remember. Oh, yes, once. I was little and I went down to the library and heard him talking to the footman. I had opened the door and could hear him. He was angry at the footman, but I don’t know about what.”
“Was he shouting at him?”
“No, he wasn’t shouting, but I could tell by his voice that he wasn’t being very nice to him.”
Althea could imagine the cutting remarks. “Were you afraid of your father then?”
“I wasn’t afraid of him for my sake but for the footman’s. I remember thinking I would never want him to talk to me like that.”
“So, in that sense you fear your father. You know he is capable of being angry, but you wouldn’t want that anger turned toward you.”
Rebecca nodded. “That’s right. Is that how it is with God?”
“Yes. He is our Heavenly Father. Because we love Him, we don’t want to anger Him. But it’s not because we are afraid of Him. It is because we love Him so much.”
“Oh,” Rebecca breathed in wonder.
Althea plumped the girl’s pillow and smoothed her coverlet. “Why don’t you take a little nap? We can continue with our puppets later.” At the girl’s nod, Althea stepped away, picking up the scraps. She stood a moment, watching her charge. Oh, Lord, she prayed, heal her, let her laugh and run and jump like those children at the mission.
The following week passed quickly with puppets in the mornings and dinner party preparations in the afternoons.
