The Only Key

"Hi, Mrs. Brown," said Ryenne when she saw her neighbor take a bag of groceries from her car. "Do you need any help?"

"Hi, Ryenne. Why, yes, I could use a little help here today. Thank you." She opened her purse and took out a ring of keys. "I'm going to have my arms full when I get these groceries out. Do you think you could unlock the door to my house?"

"Sure." Ryenne took the keys and quickly ran to the door of the house, but she didn't know which key would unlock it. She tried one. It didn't work, so she tried another--and another and another. If Mrs. Brown would get here, she could tell me which key works! Ryenne thought. But Mrs. Brown didn't come until Ryenne was trying the last key on the ring, and that one finally opened the door.

"Sorry I took so long," Mrs. Brown said. "A bag in the trunk tipped over and a few groceries rolled out, so I had to put them back. Thanks for opening the door for me."

"You're welcome," said Ryenne. She laughed. "I tried every one of these keys before I got to the one that opened the door."

"Oh! I should have told you which key to use!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "I'm glad you found it." She smiled at Ryenne. "It reminds me of my younger days when I tried a lot of keys in hopes of opening an entirely different sort of door."

Ryenne looked at Mrs. Brown in surprise. "What kind of door is that?"

"I wasn't sure what to call it back then, but now I know what it was--I was trying to open the door to salvation. I was looking for peace and hope in my life, and though I tried to live a good life and feel good about myself, none of the keys I tried worked. Then I met Jesus and realized I had been trying every key but the right one. He's the key to salvation and eternal life. We can only have peace and hope by trusting in Him."

Ryenne grinned as she held the door open for Mrs. Brown. "I'm glad He opened that door for both of us!" -Diane V. Godbold