Childlike Forest

By Jerusalem De Jong

Growing up is inevitable...right? Physically, yes, but in the world of adulthood, forgetting has become a habit, a state of mind, a behavior we fall prey to. Learning to be responsible and to shed our naive childish thinking is expected, but in the process of growing up, we also lose something. Some of the most important and also some of the simplest things take on a different meaning when you've forgotten what it is like to be an innocent child.Step into Ella's world and discover the life of a young girl who has not yet been changed and who stares mysteries and darkness in the face to find a miracle.A peculiar forest that rests on the edge of a peaceful meadow is the cause of many rumors, unwanted and eventually forgotten by the town of Flowerdale. For reasons unknown to the small girl, adults can't seem to see what she sees. The gloomy forest holds something special, secrets and a mysterious miracle just waiting to be sought out.Without friends or siblings, Ella finds her joy through her mother's love and in Jesus Christ, her Heavenly Father who is all around her and simply a prayer away. But even then, she still longs for a friend to play with when her mother is too busy.Within the comforting shelter of trees in the dark and misunderstood forest, a mysterious someone makes himself known. It was not what you'd expect nor fully understand perhaps, but will this curious mystery be an answer to little Ella's prayers?Let her intriguing story reveal the secret word for word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098021979

Book preview

Childlike Forest

Jerusalem De Jong

ISBN 978-1-0980-2196-2 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-2197-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Jerusalem De Jong

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

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

About the Author

title

There was an old Redwood cabin that rested outside of the quiet town of Flowerdale. This cabin sat peacefully in the delicate presence of a meadow, and on windy days, it creaked and groaned softly.

This particular meadow was called Deer Meadow by the ten-year-old little girl and her mother who lived in the cozy wood cabin. Deer Meadow was covered in tall grasses of green and gold, with scattered Poppy and Verbena blooms that appeared to glow in the lingering sunshine of evening.

Ella was the young girl's name, which means light and she was an only child who had her loving mother and her comforting Lord Jesus to care for her. Their small two-story cabin was the only home she remembered. She enjoyed the homey feel to it, and never complained about the lack of room. Her upstairs bedroom was all the space she needed to sleep, and she much preferred to be outdoors, anyway.

Deer Meadow waved cheerily in the breeze from the cabin window. Ella could sit for hours simply admiring its beauty.

Yet what Ella enjoyed most was what loomed just at the edge of the meadow—a dense forest, rumored to hold a troubling secret or two, and more unknown dangers than anyone would like to find out about, bringing distrust and fear to the residents of Flowerdale. Hasty to judge the forest as gloomy, ugly, and sinister, they kept their distance and took it as a waste of space, and even wished for it to be cleared away as if it were just a field of unwanted weeds. The townspeople settled with forcing this forest from their memory instead—out of sight, out of mind, which gave it its name. A misunderstood forest, now forgotten.

On the other hand, Ella did everything but avoid the Forgotten Forest that beckoned to her from her cabin's front door. To her, it was like a dreamland, humming with mysterious marvels and hidden blessings begging to be discovered. She would wait up at night sometimes, at her unlatched window to listen to the sounds of the forest. She would hear the wail of an owl or the longing coo of some night bird that she had no name for. With her gaze fastened on the dark forest treeline, she