Sophie's Sword

By Teri Gallo Blackadar

Sophie and six other girls from distinct backgrounds meet at their church's youth group. Bonds of trust emerge that will equip their friendship with the strength and courage they need to navigate the challenges in their lives. The girls tackle tough questions and family concerns along with some sin patterns of envy, jealousy, anger, and fear. God has prepared their hearts to identify their own inner resources with the gift of wisdom in Sophie's dream. This story draws from the reality of being a preteen today, coming of age beyond Sunday school while discovering what faith in God will do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098097332

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Sophie's Sword

Teri Gallo Blackadar

Copyright © 2021 by Teri Gallo Blackadar

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Sophie

Ava

Lily

Mia

Elena

Makayla

Harper

Sunday Morning

Sunday Afternoon

Word of God

Girls with Swords

Pursuit

To Emma, Charlotte, and Isabelle

Chapter 1

Sophie

At eleven and a half, Sophie was wise for her age. At least that is what her nana always told her. She liked that her given birth name, Sophia, meant wisdom. Her dad said wisdom was a gift from the Lord.

We just have to remember to say a prayer and ask God to make the right choices when we don’t know what to do, he always reminded her.

In the middle of sixth grade, Sophie found herself in a whirl of change and enough life questions to fill a textbook. Her first year in junior high hadn’t been easy, and now January was the longest month of all. Christmas was over, and it rained a lot in Florida this time of year. Thankfully being in sixth grade gave her entrance to Stillwater Church’s youth group called Pursuit. It was there last August where she met new girlfriends who went to her church. Ava and Makayla attended the same junior high school as Sophie but were in different homerooms, Mia was homeschooled, and Harper, Lily, and Elena attended a Christian school that was first through eighth grade all in one. Sophie wondered if it was easier to attend a school like that, being you didn’t have to start all over again as you do when you transfer to junior high. In fact, she thought, I bet the younger kids even look up to you. Nonetheless, Sophie looked forward to Friday nights when she attended Pursuit at church. They utilized the church’s large group room, had their own youth-led worship, and even heard relevant teachings from some older students.

When her family first joined Stillwater Church three years earlier, Sophie pondered as to why any church in Florida would be named Stillwater. After all, everyone knew there was no such thing as still water in this part of the country. There were alligators lurking in any lake or canal here! Her mom just sighed and reviewed the first couple of verses of Psalm 23, He leads me beside the still waters, then told her she asked too many questions. Of course, her mom was right; Sophie did question many things. Her grandmother said that was one reason she had an enormous amount of wisdom for a child. Sophie could always depend on her nana to be on her side. It seemed that her questions had increased this year. Mostly she kept them to herself, but sometimes she did ask her nana’s opinion. Sophie realized how fortunate she was to be part of a loving family. Her parents were still married, unlike Lily and Makayla. She had a younger brother, Joey, whom she adored, although he could be an occasional annoyance. Best of all was their family dog, Solomon, a big black lab who always listened whenever she needed to get things off her mind.

Some Friday nights, Sophie would bring her questions to Pursuit Youth Group. This week, as she found her seat next to her friends, she wondered if God had more important things to deal with in the world other than this group of preteens and teenagers. After all, there were third-world countries where there was no water or food, where there was suffering, disease, and wars. Here in America, many lives were affected by poverty, violence, and unrest. Then the worship team played and sang I Am Not Alone by Kari Jobe, Nobody Loves me Like You by Chris Tomlin, and Who Am I by Casting Crowns; it was as if God specifically told her He cared about all of them. Then one of the older kids, Mike, taught how much the Lord treasured each one of them. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12:7 NKJV), and When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? (Psalm 8:3–4 NKJV). And Sophie knew she was indeed loved and blessed.

The format of Friday night was structured so that after the teaching, they would condense into six smaller groups for an hour according to grade and gender: the sixth and seventh grade together, eighth and ninth, then tenth, eleventh, and twelfth. Afterward they rejoined into a large group once more for closing prayer and snacks. Sophie was glad to see Mia, Elena, Harper, and Lily since she usually didn’t see them all week unless there was a special event or they attended the same Sunday service. This night, both Elena and Lily seemed a bit off to Sophie.

Hey, guys, how has your week been going?

Elena shrugged