Once upon a time there lived a noble lady named Ana who lived in the land of Deathscare. As a child, she loved the life within that she had been given and relished it every day.

One day as she was celebrating all the gifts of life and treasure in her soul, back home something dark stole the life from her pet kitty. As her tears flowed, the golden chain she was born with seemed to tighten around her neck, choking the precious life Ana celebrated as her delightful treasure. Years passed, and death returned, stealing her Granddaddy, Papa, Daddy and finally her beloved Nannie. Each horrible time, the golden neck chain sparkled in the sunlight as it tightened, choking her tears until she accepted fear that the ruler of Deathscare Land could not be stopped.

Ana sensed deep in her heart that the thief of the treasure of life from those she loved somehow was not the final word. She decided not to surrender to this ruler of so many and embrace celebration of death. She began to seek the final word with all her heart, and the more she sought, the tighter her golden neck chain fought. Through her tears, she began to realize the word was written in the sky, the trees and all life around her. She soon discovered The Book that told her of the Word that created all the life she loved.

She began to see clearer and clearer that the final Word was the Way, the Truth and the Life, given up for her so that she might truly have life in all its abundance. As Ana's tears flowed, they were miraculously absorbed by the Blood of the Lamb, creating a wave of blood and water that gently cleansed her soul.

The golden chain shimmered as it loosed its chokehold from her neck and dropped into the flowing river of blood and water as Ana received the Word she had always known deep in her treasure chest of life. The ownership of her life was changed from the rule of death to Eternal Life through the death and resurrection of the final Word.

Now Ana really lived, and no one could take Eternal Life and its fulfilling celebration from her. Many in Deathscare Land were freed from the chokehold of fear and rulership of death into everlasting life and celebration of creation through the final Word -- Who Was and Is and Is To Come.

Dianne Brady is an author and speaker and can be reached at dbrady@a4isp.com.