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You Are Never Alone By Natalie Cherie Campbell (Based on a True Story)
I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32). “Rrrrriiiiiinngggg!” Natalie looked at the clock. It was time for recess. The girls in her class ran to the door giggling. They never even looked at Natalie anymore. Natalie walked outside over to her spot against the wall. She ran her fingers along the rough bricks and watched the other kids play. “I wish McKenzie were still here,” she mumbled. Last year, her older sister, McKenzie, played with Natalie everyday at recess after Natalie stopped playing with the girls in her class because their choices made her feel uncomfortable. But now McKenzie was at the junior high school, and Natalie played alone. She still remembered how her cheeks would heat up every time one of her friends would try to get her to say a swear word, or dare her to kiss a boy behind the dugout, or tell her a naughty joke. One day, a girl had told her to say a really long word as slowly as she could. As Natalie said it, she froze. She’d accidentally said a word Mom had told her to never say! Natalie felt her eyes get hot and wet as everyone laughed at her, saying, “Don’t be dumb, Natalie. It’s not a big deal.” She’d giggled along too and tried not to think about it, but she looked at the ground for the rest of the day. But after a family home evening lesson on having courage, Natalie decided that she couldn’t giggle along quietly anymore. She told some of the girls that she was going to start playing with her sister because she felt happier when she didn’t have to worry about swear words, mean jokes, and boys who tried to touch and tease her. But now McKenzie was in junior high and no one would talk to her but the teacher. Natalie felt like she’d just traded one bad feeling for another. Natalie sat against the cold, gray wall, and remembered that Mom had told her to pray when she felt alone. Natalie looked around, closed her eyes, and said, “Heavenly Father, please help me not be alone anymore.” The bell rang. She walked to the door and was the first one in line to go back inside. After school Natalie tiptoed to her room because she knew Mom would ask her about her day if she went upstairs. Today Natalie’s heart felt like it had a rock on it, and
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she didn’t want to say why. Natalie curled up in the corner of her bed. Tears started running down her cheeks. “I didn’t talk to anyone all day, Heavenly Father,” Natalie said. “No one likes me anymore. They say I think I’m better than everyone. I do everything alone and, and . . . ” Praying was hard when Natalie would cry because she would start to breathe in funny jumps and get all red. But she kept praying silently. Then Natalie began to feel something. Her breath slowed down, and her heart stopped squeezing inside her. She felt like she was sitting on Daddy’s lap, but it was different somehow. It almost felt like arms were wrapping around her and holding her. She felt the words “I love you, Natalie. You are never alone.” Natalie looked at her picture of Jesus Christ on her wall. She had a Heavenly Father and Elder Brother who would never leave her alone. Natalie wiped the tears off of her cheeks and smiled. “I love you too.”