I had just gotten in form milking the cows and serving breakfast to my family. It was a hot day in late June and I was already late for church. I bustled about the house gathering my belongings, my children, and just trying to look my Sunday best. My husband and two children were finally ready to go so we headed to our local church about a mile down the road. As we took out usual seats in the third pew, Minister Jonathan Edwards came steeped up to the plain podium. He began, "There is nothing between you and Hell but air..." The statement, though logical, sent shivers through my body. He continued speaking of our ignorance taking God for granted. It was only God's gentle hand that kept us from falling into the fiery pits of Hell. The illusion of our wickedness and benightedness weighing us down further and further toward damnation were streaming out of his mouth. The accusations he was making caused some to shutter at his mere words.

"There are black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads," he boomed. I sat back i

n terror imagining the once gentle and understanding God that I had known now transforming into a bitter disgruntled authority. The minister compared the Lord's great wrath to that of a storm, something that I can say all of us can relate to. Its power and anger have the ability to destroy us all instantly, but God chooses to keep us alive by the good his heart. A pang of guilt was stabbing me in the heart as I tried to hold back tears. I realized then that maybe I couldn't be saved. I had committed so many sins and crimes, some of them unintentional.

"Oh sinner!" he declared. "Consider the fearful danger you are in: 'tis a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit." Sweat ran down his face as he pounded on his bible that sat in front of him. His words felt like a knife stabbing my heart. It all seemed so logical though; after all we wer abandoning everything that we stood for. We were abandoning our Lord. The minister spoke of the many who are now experiencing hell. The reasons I'll be sent there are much worse of those who have already died. There is nothing I

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jonathan Edwards, Angry God, stabbing heart, jonathan edwards, god's wrath, angry god,
Approximate Word count = 736
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)