READ: 1 SAMUEL 17; 2 TIMOTHY 1:9-10

Dear Mother,

Grandfather’s stories are true. The giant smells. Now his stories feel like mine. But I suppose that’s the purpose of a story. To let you know you’re not alone.

It might be the giant’s breath or body, but we could smell it from a mile away. Like rotten meat. Like that time when a mouse died in the wall and we couldn’t reach it. The smell of the army masks it, but not much. I can smell the blood on the shields. The body odor from days of warfare. The dirt, churned to mud by our advance. It almost made me forget the giant.

Then he would laugh. Guffaw. He’d grab his bouncing stomach and laugh with all his might as we hacked at his toes and ankles. Or when others were crushed beneath his naked feet.

The Prophecy of the Scroll is our only hope. I pray it’s true, because the army is useless. We leave scratches as he laughs. We are fully incapable of defeating him. We’ve used all manner of weapons to no avail. Siege Engines and Catapults. Fire and Poison. Nothing stops him. And so, slowing him from reaching our village is our goal. We’ve lost a third of the army so far, but holding him here on the Plains of Ardak-Drun, even for a few days, should be enough time for you and my sisters to escape to the mountains. Even if I die, knowing you are safe is worth it.

Should the Scrolls prove true, and the chosen one arrive, I will send word. Should his sword be sharp and the stones of his sling fly true, should he stand on his own strength and not that of an army, should the one foretold by those of old lay his sandals upon the sands of Ardak-Drun, I am confident that the uselessness of the army will be but kindling to fuel his glory.

Embrace my sisters, tell them the stories of old.

Love, your son. • Jacob Marchitell

• In 1 Samuel 17, when a nine-foot-tall warrior named Goliath terrorized the Israelite army, David killed him with just a stone and sling. This points to the future promise of the Chosen One. All our efforts are useless against the death that awaits us. But God didn’t leave us to die alone, weak and afraid of the power of death. He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to fight the battle on our behalf. He defeated death by giving up His own life for us on the cross, and then rising from the grave, so we could one day be raised to life just as He was. So now, whenever we are afraid, we can look to our King. Not a king who stays hidden in his palace, but a King who “gave up his divine privileges,” stood on the front line of the war, and defeated death by Himself (Romans 5:1-11; Philippians 2:5-11). In hard times, how can looking to Jesus give us hope?

Christ Jesus, our Savior…broke the power of death. 2 Timothy 1:10 (NLT)