STAYED
There’s a void. I feel it.
“This isn’t me,” Pascal cried.
Pascal was known for his diligence. He was that young man everyone could count on. Always early, always smiling, always doing more than expected.
He worked as a cleaner in a small company, but he treated that broom like it was his purpose. His hands might have been stained with dust, but his heart was clean.
They called him Clean Pascal.
He was a struggling young man, yes, but never shortsighted. While others mocked his dreams, he nurtured them.
He would often say, “Someday, God will lift me. I won’t be a cleaner forever.”
And when the laughter came, he just smiled and kept working.He prayed. He served in church faithfully. He never missed ushering duty.
His faith was simple: serve God, stay humble, keep believing.
Then one Saturday morning, Pascal was summoned to his boss’s office. It startled him. The boss had never called for him before.
“Pascal, right?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied, standing nervously by the door.
First of all,” the boss said, “I want to commend you. You’ve been an exceptional staff. I’ve checked your records, and you’ve proven yourself worthy.”
Pascal’s heart warmed. Finally, someone saw him.
Then the unexpected came.
“I’m sorry, Pascal,” the boss continued. “The company is downsizing, and we have to let some staff go. You’ve been a great worker, but this decision is beyond me. Pascal froze. His lips trembled. “Sir, please, I… I can do anything else
“I’m sorry.”
That was it.
He walked out, dazed. His world felt blurry. The same broom that once gave him joy now felt like a burden. He had been faithful, prayerful, hardworking and yet, here he was, unemployed.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. He kept trying,applying, praying, waiting, until one day, a door opened.
A man he once helped without expecting anything in return offered him a job in a bigger company.
Pascal took the offer with tears in his eyes. “God remembered me,” he whispered.
From there, things changed fast.
He rose quickly through the ranks.
His salary multiplied.
His wardrobe changed.
And soon, so did his heart.
Church became optional. Prayer became occasional. He no longer had time for “small things.” His words carried pride; his heart carried distance.
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The Pascal who once served quietly was gone, replaced by one who loved the sound of his own achievements.
And though he smiled often, deep inside, something was off. A strange emptiness grew louder each day.
There was laughter around him, but silence within.
Then came the sickness.
At first, he ignored it. A cough, a fever, the usual. But when the doctors grew quiet, he knew.Something inside him broke. A doctor’s note. A diagnosis he couldn’t buy his way out of.
For the first time in years, Pascal wept until sleep claimed him.
Lying weak on his bed, he turned to the wall and whispered, “God, there’s a void. I feel it. Please, fill this empty heart of mine. I’d rather be a cleaner and have peace than be rich and lose You.”
He paused, trembling.
“Please, God, stay.”
That night, he dreamt.
He was back in his old office, holding a broom again, but this time, his heart was light.
He looked up and saw a man clothed in light, smiling at him.
“I never left,” the voice said. “You did. But I stayed.”
Tears streamed down Pascal’s face. He fell to his knees and whispered, “Thank You for staying.”
When he woke up, something had changed.
Not just his health,his soul.
The peace he lost returned quietly, like sunlight after a storm. And though he eventually got healed, he never chased wealth the same way again.
Pascal learned that fulfillment wasn’t in success, but in presence, God’s presence.He went back to church, back to serving, back to smiling with purpose.
People called him Clean Pascal again, but this time, the name meant more.
Because it wasn’t just about how well he cleaned his floors, but how God cleaned his heart.
And through it all, God stayed
Reflection
Don’t confuse God’s silence for absence.
Sometimes, He’s waiting for you to wake up, to remember who you were before comfort dulled your purpose.
