The Old Man's House and Heretta
By Brenda Miller

Once upon a time, there lived an old man.  He lived in his house that was in a swamp.  All the land he owned was SWAMP.  He was an old wrinkly, gray haired, yellow toothed, smelly, 76 year old man.

One day a girl came to his creepy house.  She was the daughter of the town’s general store owner. She was 16 and looking for a summer job so she could buy gas for her car that she just got, along with her license. As she walked up to the door she was looking for any sign of a trap around, and once she assumed there was none in sight she knocked on the door. Nothing happened. Not a sound in sight. She knocked again. Still none. But nonetheless she was determined that she must get a job here because everywhere else she tried no one would hire her. Not even her own father, nope, he told her that she needed to take a step out and go look for a job so as to help her in making her own decisions and not depending entirely on her dad for everything her whole life.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was approaching the door from the inside. The old man opened it. He didn't look too clean-he was scruffy, didn't smell all that good, and didn't even smile like everyone else usually did in town. She was starting to get frightened just looking at him. 

However she managed to catch her breath and then inquired about her reason for coming, “Hello Sir, My name is Heretta, and I need a job." 
The old man said "So, what is your business here?" I have no job for you."

She replied, "Sir, I go to Mirecles High School and I need a part time job so I can earn enough money to buy gas for my car.  And, well I was sort of wishing I could work for you?  I mean, I could clean out your swamp, tidy up your house a bit."

"What'd you say your name was?"

"Heretta. Heretta McClayson."

"Wait a second. Are you related to Jeffery McClayson by any chance?" he asked.

"Why, yes I am actually. He was my great-grandfather. He passed away before I ever knew him. How do you know him?" she replied.

"It's cold out here. Why don't you come on in and sit for a while, and we'll see what we can come up with."

So she went in. It was unbelievable to walk into that house. Boxes stacked a mile or two high. Dust covering every single thing. Nothing but a small pathway to walk down towards the kitchen was even pleasant. Even at that there was dust and dirt and grime all over. She could hardly believe her eyes-could someone really live this way? she asked herself, and she followed the old man to his kitchen table. "Now listen up here," the old man said abruptly, "I don't hire many folks down this way to do work for me. I'm on a selected basis and because that's what I'm used to ever since my wife died that's what I'm sticking to. So don't get any ideas of other folks working for me too. Got it?"

"Why,...why,..." she stuttered. "..why, yes sir. Absolutely."

"Now then, let's get to business."

"Um, excuse me. But what's your name?"

"Sorry but I can't give that away."

"Why not?"

"It's a long story that I don't want to share to some no good, snoopy teenager. You're all the same, ..." he replied as he walked off mumbling to himself, "...teenagers, can't stay out of anybody's business. Must know everything about everybody so's they can gossips."
Not before long he returned with a box in his hands and told Heretta that it had belonged to an old friend of his who has passed away about 3 years before and that his friend was all he had left ever since his wife died 8 years earlier from pneumonia at the age of 67.

The old man then asked her to take it to her father when she left and that he'd know what it was about.

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"You can start by cleaning up the porch." the old man told Heretta, "I'll get some soapy water and a scrubber and you can get to work. It's gonna need some paintin' and you can do thats too if it's to yur' likin'."

And that was the beginning of an end. The old man had Heretta cleaning out every which way and in places that he had forgotten he had. She somehow managed to convince him that he ought to get rid of old junk that he didn't need anymore and that it was all just a bunch of clutter. And for being an old man who lived by himself for many years, he had gotten quite attached to his belongings and had forgotten what was really important to him-and that was life!

In his younger days he had been a jet fighter pilot that was his whole life, until he met his wife. He had gotten so consumed up in his career that he had forgotten what life was all about, and that was enjoying what the Father had given him and to serve Him. His wife, Lunichia, had shown him that life just wasn't all about flying planes, and what not, but rather it was living for their Father in Heaven. He soon realized this and started to go to church regularly after that - which he had strayed away from in his younger years.

Up until the time when Lunichia died, he had been a faithful follower and believer of Yahshua the Messiah. However, once his wife got deathly ill he couldn't figure out why Yahweh would allow this to happen to him. So after she died, he strayed away and became an old hermit in a swamp where everyone was afraid to go....until that one day!, which changed his life (a second time).

Heretta began working for him in the spring of 2000 and continued through the fall until school began back up again. But during the time she spent at his house, and getting to know him better the less she became afraid of him.

After the summer was over with, she quit working for him because she went back to school; she felt sorry for the old man because he didn't have any friend to ever go see him. So she went every now and then to see how he was doing. Once you get to know him, he was a nice old man. The only thing that was wrong with his house was him. He was dirtier than a pig. But Heretta helped him to think straight again and get out of the hole that he was in. He began going to church regularly again and he was like a changed man.

No one could hardly believe what had happened to his house. Some of the towns folks even thought that someone had chopped out his entire property and replaced it with a brand new sparkling piece of land, but it wasn't for sale and that's what confused them :)

The McClayson family began inviting him over for dinner after church and re-welcomed him into their small community town and fellowship at church.

"Say, whatever happened to that ol' box that I gave you?" the old man asked Heretta one day after church had been dismissed.

"Oh yeah. Hey dad! " she called out to her father who was across the room, "What was that box about that ..... " she paused a second and suddenly remembered she hadn't ever learned what the old man's name was, so she inquired about it, "You know what, I don't believe you've ever told me your name?"

"Well, I guess you turned out to be a smart one of them teenagers after all. No ma'am, I haven't." he replied, "If you haven't learned anything from me this past summer then there's something I do want you to learn now, and that is: There is a place, time, and reason/meaning for everything that happens. And the reason I haven't told you my name was because of what you would say. But I've concluded that now would be a good right time to fill you in on such a bit of information that I have hid from you these past few months." he paused and hesitated slightly, "The title...my mother and father gave.....to me when I was born was.....Jeffery Allen McClayson." it took all the nerve he had to reveal his name to Heretta who was in total shock that the old man she had been working for the past summer was actually her great-grandfather who had 'died' many years before, but in reality that isn't what happened.

As you could imagine a lot of explaining needed to be done from Jeffery, who was slightly reluctant to tell his story to his family who he had forsaken so many years ago, but none-the-less he told it. And to his astonishment his entire family forgave him and accepted him back into their family and he didn't have a clue why they did that.

"You know in Matthew there's the story of the prodigal son who came home after all the disgrace he had done to his father, well just as his father accepted him home, so does our Father, Yahweh in Heaven accepts us back into His family if we ask, and just as He has done-and does, so too we have accepted you back into our family." explained Heretta's father, Mr. James McClayson, "We love you grandpa, and want you to come back into our lives."

By this time Jeffery McClayson was in tears. How or why, would his family accept him back in after he rejected them? After studying for a while he found out why. And was so thankful for that one day in which Heretta needed a job, and he was able to help her.

THE END