Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

Lord, You watched two gals enjoying a quiet time in the park. A young fellow stopped and asked: "Are you Miss Sue?" Sue smiled and nodded her head. He continued: "I've been looking forward to seeing you for a long time, mainly to tell you that you were the best teacher I ever had in school."

Sue looked speechless, but before she spoke, he smiled, "Do you remember once in middle school, there was some peanut butter spread on the bottom of the slide and some kids, sliding down, got dirty."

Miss Sue gasped, "Was that you?"

He smiled, "But that's not what I came to tell you. Shortly after that incident, we/my family moved away.

"Then in high school, I met a guy who had a different attitude about life, one I'd never known. He invited me to church with him and his family. My parents didn't go to church, they argued and fought a lot, but said I could go with Rick!

"We're both named Richard, but decided, he'd be Rick and I'd be Dick. Long story short, he said there was a key to getting into Heaven. I asked: 'How?' He said he had the key. Like, really? He said he'd show me.

"The next day he had a small Bible, handed it to me and said, 'Here's the key.' I looked at him – he laughed and said, 'check out the bookmark.'

"Romans 10:8-10 was highlighted. Verse 10: 'That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.' That's the Key; that's the reason Jesus came to earth; Happy New Year, Dick."

"Long story short, I believed. Now my folks go to church and I'm learning how to minister to needy folks. Just wanted you to know that I have the key, hope you do too, Miss Sue, and know that Jesus changes lives and promises eternal life. The best to you. Happy New Year!" And he left.

Love, Mara