Jenny couldn't believe they were really coming to live in
her town.she prayed it wasn't true "God,please,please,
Please don't let Hazel and Holly go to my school.Send them
to somewhere across town so that they end up at a school
far,Far away!"
  Hazel and Holly Hollister were terrible twins indeed.
They were Jenny's worst cousins Ever,and they became known
everywhere they went as the " Horrible Hollisters"--a
nickname they enjoyed hearing.
 The Hollister twins were horrible, all the way to their
bones. They hated everybody and enjoyed only each other's
bad company.They figured they didn't need friends since they
had each other and,so,they loved coming up with ways to make
trouble for everybody around them. They thought it was
funny.
 They loved coming up with insults--they always tried to
find someone to pick on. They liked being the boss--they
always ended up making everybody around them scared.They
regularly tried to ambush other people's happiness,always
looking for ways to be mean.
  When they found change on the street, they never used it
for things like gumballs. Instead they'd put it in their
pockets and wait for times when nobody was looking...then
they'd carve words into the newest cars they could find.
Sometimes they'd write,"UH OH!"
Other times they'd write,"Ooooh,this one's baaad!" and leave
laughing their fool heads off.
 The Horrible Hollisters also liked to do pranks--things
like throwing eggs into mailboxes,smearing strawberry jelly
under car handles,and hiding people's cell phones and car
keys in their own flowerbeds.
 Whenever they found a ball at the park, they'd pop it for
fun. Whenever they saw someone old, they'd make sure to tell
them that they smelled.Hazel and Holly Hollister were the
worst kids everywhere they went!
  The weird part was that they didn't look terrible.No,they
were actually very pretty and dressed better than anyone
Jenny knew.Their hair was always gleaming blond.Their nails
were always painted a soft, slick pink. They thought they
were rock stars.


              Please Don't See Me!

So, the day Jenny saw them at her school, her heart
sunk.Please don't see me! Jenny thought to herself.
Then they turned around and looked streight into her eyes.
They smiled and ran right over.
 "Hey,Jen-Jen,double chin!Bet you're glad to see us,huh>!"
Hazel said thumped Jenny right on the tip of her chin.Jenny
reached up to feel if she really had a double chin. When
Hazel saw that,she cracked up laughing and knew her insult
had worked. Jenny just sighed.
 "Yeah! You'll be seeing us around a lot now,huh,little
cousin?" Holly said and rubbed up against Jenny's arm like
they were best friends. When Holly got close enough,she
threw out her foot and kicked Jenny right in the rear end.
Jenny lunged forward a little. She closed her eyes and
siged.Just then,the bell rang for class.
  "Yeah,I'm REALLY glad you're both here," Jenny said with a
tight smile as she quickly got away.
  That night,when Jenny was home and safe in her bed,she
prayed to God.She told God that she was upset that He didn't
listen to her prayer and make them go to a school far,FAR
away.She imagined how horrible her life was about to be and
told God that it wasn't fair.She told God every single bad
thing that she could think of about the Horrible
Hollisters,and then she prayed for a miracle, she prayed
that they would just disappear into thin air.
  Jenny took a long,deep breath.She knew God was
listening,but He was awfully quiet.He didn't say a word to
her heart and that made her huff and puff.Not that it
mattered really.Jenny wouldn't listen anyway and God knew
it.Jenny was so full of anger about the twins that she
couldn't think straight. With a scowl,she turned over in her
bed and fell asleep.

               ONE LOOONG MONTH LATER

  One month passed. It was so loooong,Jenny thought it was
the longest month in the history of the world.As Jenny sat
on the steps of her school waiting for her mom to pick her
up,she thought how much she really hated Hazel and Holly.Her
stomach turned just thinking about them.In her heart,she
reminded God all about what they'd done,just that week.
  Jenny told God that,just that Monday,the Horrible
Hollisters had made fun of a girl so much that she broke
down crying.Jenny reminded Him that she was the one who ran
to the girl's rescue,helping her to feel better.
  Jenny told God that on Tuesday,Hazel and Holly had snuck
into the stairwell and threw two desks down three flights of
school stairs.She asked Him if He heard the noise all the
way in Heaven since,down here on earth,the echo alone
sounded like a million shotgun.Jenny huffed and reminded God
that,yet again,nobody saw them do it.They got away with it!
Ugh!!!
  Jenny didn't say much about Wednesday,since that was the
day Hazel and Holly stayed home "sick".They lied,of
course.They were perfectly well and spent the day eating
chicken soup and watching Tv.Jenny knew because they proudly
told her so...right after they fake-coughed in her face.
  That happened Thursday morning.Jenny told God,the day they
made"hamburger patties"out of wet toilet paper and threw
them on the bathroom ceiling,where they stuck for hours
before falling onto kids heads.
 Jenny asked God it was all happening.She reminded Him that
Thursday was the same day that they stole chalky blackboard
erasers and threw them at kids as they ran down the hall...
the same day that they wrote horrible things about all the
popular kids on tiny bits of paper and scattered them
throughout the halls.
  Jenny had been one of the kids they wrote about,
 she reminded God.They had written that she was ugly and her
feet stunk.Jenny was so hurt and angry that she was done
praying about it and had decided to FIGHT...and she wasn't
alone.
  All the kids in school had decided that enough was
ENOUGH.Just that afternoon,a plan had been made.
 The Horrible Hollisters were going DOWN.

          FIGHT AT THE PARK!

 Jenny tapped her feet as she sat on the steps and wondered
why her mom was late.She knew that if she didn't hurry,she
was going to miss her chance to be a part of the fight.
  Already the other kids were gathering.The plan was to
ambush the twins at the edge of the park,the place where the
fence made a shrap turn--that way,
they wouldn't see it coming.You see,every Friday
afternoon,Hazel and Holly walked to ballet practice through
the park.They had used the same shrap turn of the fence to
beat other kids up.Now,they were going to get the same
treatment...except worse.
  Jenny looked down the street.Her mom's car was still not
in sight.She got up and started to tap her feet.She didn't
want to miss the fight! Where are you,Mom?!! Jenny said
aloud.She ran back up the stairs to the school office to use
the phone.
  "Mom? Where Are you?"Jenny said when she finally got
through.
 "What do yo mean,Jen?" her mom said back.
 "I'm at school waiting for you!" Jenny said.
 "Oh,no!Jen.I'm in traffic now,but I thught your dad was
picking you up..oh! Ok.I'm on my way.Stay where you are.I'm
going to be at least twenty minutes,the way this traffic is
going.I'm calling your dad now.There must be some
misunderstanding.Hold tightr,Jen.Just hang out in the
office.I'll be there soon."
   "this is why I need a cell phone!"Jenny said.
Her mom said they'd talk about it later,and Jenny just
sighed and hung up the phone.She plopped down into a chair.
There was no way she was going to make it to the fight. She
wanted to cry.

             WHY,GOD,WHY?
 
 By the time Jenny was home,she knew she was too
late.Still,she threw her stuff down quick and asked her mom
if she could go to the park.As she ran,she started to feel a
tug at her heart.She knew it was God and wanted to ignore
it,so she did for about three minutes.
Then,she spoke up...
  "No! I don't want to talk about it,God! You didn't make
them go far,Far away and I prayed for that.You didn't make
them disappear eihter!They've done so many bad things and
You didn't do anything about it...
they called me ugly!They said I stunk!"
  Just then,even though she wanted to keep all her anger
stored up so that she could pound her fists into the
Horrible Hollister twins,Jenny began to break on the
inside...her heart just began to break.
  "God,I am so miserable!"she said and felt tears run down
her cheeks.
  "God,I can't take it anymore!"she said and fell to her
knees in the sandy dirt.
  "They are horriable and mean and You aren't helping me
any!"she said,and then with the most
hurt she had in all her heart,she said the word that she
meant the most...
  "Why???!!"
  And as she knelt there in the dirt,her fists began to
unclench.The scowl on her mouth began to loosen.Her
mind began to open as her heart continued to break.
She looked up at Heaven and whispered it again.
  "Why,God? Why didn't You answer me?"
  Just then,Jenny stopped. In her heart,before she even 
knew the answer, she let go of the anger.She just
decided to let it go.
  "Help me,God,to understand,"she said.
  Just then,her heart opened wide and a flood of anointed
power that she had never quite felt in the same way.It 
overpowered her anger.It washed away her want to fight.
It flowed over her like hot oil and made her feel weak.
   Jenny humbled down.
   Jenny stopped arguing.
   Jenny let the question go...but God wouldn't.
   "Are you ready now, Jenny? Do you want to hear?
   Are you ready to listen? What you don't understand,
  I can help you to understand.What you don't know,
  I can help you to learn.But you are going to have walk
  My way...you are going to have to trust in Me.
 Are you ready to do that for Me, my Jenny?"
  Just then, before she could even answer God,she heard
the scuffle of four feet.Jenny didn't even look up.
She knew it was them.She knew that the Horrible Hollisters
were walking her way.
 "I'm ready,God," Jenny said aloud.
 "Help me to know why," she said in her heart.
  "Ok, Jenny," God said, " Open your eyes...and
 look at who I have sent you to heal."

          BRUISED AND BROKEN

 Just then,Jenny looked up and saw the twins with blood all
over their faces.Their eyes were nearly
 swollen shut.Their clothes were ripped off of their bodies
 in some places and they were beaten all over.
 Jenny was shocked.They looked nearly dead.Over twenty
people had taken their anger out on them and it showed...
especially on their faces.They were hurt all the way to
their bones.
  Jenny stood to her feet.
  "Let me help you,"she said and put her arm around Hazel.
   "And you, too," she said and put her other arm around
Holly.
 They were so waek that they didn't say a word back.They
 just looked at Jenny and wondered why in the world she
would help them.They knew they deserved what thay'd
gotten,even though it hurt so bad.They remembered what
they'd written about Jenny on those tiny pieces of paper,and
they knew that she had read every word.
  Jenny could read their minds.
  "I forgive you,"Jenny said and they just about fell on the
ground out of shock.
  "I do.I don't understand why,but for some reason, God
wants me to forgive you...and to help you,if you'll let
me."
  They told of things that had happened to them since
they were small.They told of people who had hurt them and
laughed.Jenny wanted to cry hard when they got to the part
about how their uncle had abused them so bad. Jenny could
see from their eyes that they weren't really angry
anymore,just bitter...and she suddenly felt what it was like
to be them for a moment.
 She understood in her heart why they had become so
incredibly mean.
  "You can have more than just each other,you know,"Jenny
suddenly said.She didn't even plan to say that, but it just
came right out of her mouth.Jenny could feel God's power
swell in her heart.

             HORRIBLE TO HEAVENLY

 Jenny looked at the twins and said, "I think that if you
are ready to open up and let go a little,God will
come rushing in and help to heal your heart.He can do it,
I know."
  Hazel looked at Holly and began to cry--something
she hadn't done in years.Hazel was the stronger one
and once Holly saw that she was going to turn to God,
she decided that she would, too,
  "I know it's not God's fault what happened to us,"
Hazel said to Holly and grabbed her by the hands.
  " I know that, too," Holly said and hugged her sister.
   "Just like we hurt others because we got hurt,I think
 that's probably what happened to them," Hazel said,
thinking about some of the abuse that had happened in her
young life.
  "It's not right!" Holly said.
  " I know, it's not right at all!" Hazel said.
  Together, they looked at Jenny and asked for help.
And just then, on the park bench, Jenny agreed to help them
tell their story to an adult so that things could be made
right,and so that no other kids could get hurt like they
did.
  It wasn't enough help though, and they all knew it.
  "Let's pray," Jenny said, and the twins grabbed each
other's hands and shut their swollen eyes.With love in
her heart for them both,Jenny said a prayer...one that
all of Heaven heard. Right there on the park bench, the
twins opened their hearts to Jesus and He came in and washed
them clean.At that very moment, the angels
jumped and danced. Two new names were written in God's big
book of soul's, never to be erased, ever.
  That Friday afternoon, the Horrible Hollisters were
totally changed. They became two heavenly girls--
ones that didn't have all that anger inside anymore--
and from that moment on, they never looked back.
  Sure, everybody at school figured the beating worked.
They each rubbed their fists with a smile and thought they'd
been the ones to change the twins.but the three girls knew
better.Jenny,Hazel,and Holly knew that God had helped them
each to understand and to heal--and to stop taking out all
their hurts and anger on others...FOREVER!