to be treated that way, it was Mary. From all I can tell, though, she lived her life rather humbly. She didn’t get one of those big blue stork signs to put on her lawn and announce to everyone that she’d given birth to the Messiah. She wasn’t calling up the National Enquirer. She seemed to just let things flow along. If people came to see the baby, she welcomed them. But she didn’t go passing Jesus around to strangers hoping to impress someone enough to get her on television or something.
I remember that the actress who is playing Mary just wants to get ahead and I think she’s got the wrong idea. The role of Mary should be acted for the sheer honor of doing it, quietly and humbly and with no expectation of fame or fortune.
We finish going through the script when Marilee comes to the door.
“Guess what?” Marilee says as she comes into the room with a nod for Randy and me. “I just got an e-mail from Becca.”
“Oh?” I say just like my heart isn’t starting to pound. “Is she coming tonight?”
“She said she has to do something for Joy and that it is really important or she would be here.”
“Oh.” My heart isn’t pounding so much anymore. “I see.”
Randy puts his arm back around my shoulders and gives me a little squeeze.
“I’m sure she wants to be here,” Marilee adds.
“Do you really think so?” I say as I look up at Marilee. I figure if I’m going to be more honest with the Sisterhood, it should operate both ways.
“I hope so,” Marilee says softly.
I nod. “So do I.”
“At least Rose will be here tonight,” Marilee says.
Rose has been with us through thick and thin. She was our rock in the days when we were in treatment. She’s out helping other teenagers now, so she doesn’t get to our group as often as she did in the beginning, but she makes it about once a month. I’m glad she’ll be here tonight.
Marilee goes back to her office and Randy goes to the kitchen to get ready for the dinner crowd. I sit in our room and work on my Mary list. At first, I thought I’d write out a description of Mary, but I never got organized enough to do that so I settled for making a list of observations I have made about her life after reading the books I’ve read.
My first observation is that Mary knew longing. Actually that is something I gathered from the part of the New Testament that I have read. There is an awful lot about longing in that book. Well, it’s more a longing and completion cycle. There are the thirsty ones who get water and the hungry ones who get bread and the lonely ones who get visited. Everybody needs something they don’t already have. Because of all that, I believe Mary was a girl who had dreams. She might even have had a longing for a husband and a son.
Knowing that Mary probably had those kinds of feelings makes her more real to me. Sometimes, when I read about Mary, I picture her as a teenager like I was, attending San Marino High School. She would be the shy one in the corner; the one who wanted to date the basketball star but who didn’t have the courage to even say hello to him.
I hope Joseph was Mary’s basketball star. That she found in him all she hoped for in a husband.
With all of my reading in the New Testament, I’m becoming more curious about churches. I’m debating about asking Marilee if I can go to church with her and Quinn this Sunday. Marilee talks about that place enough that she shouldn’t be surprised that I’d like to go with her.
I do some homework while I wait for the Sisterhood meeting to begin. I watch the dinner crowd come into The Pews. I’ve grown to love looking through the glass panes in these French doors. I try to imagine what the story is with different people who are on the other side having dinner. Sometimes you will see two friends laughing about something, but you can also see couples who are obviously arguing. It’s hard to guess who’s happier, though. Maybe the laughter hides tears and the anger will
I remember that the actress who is playing Mary just wants to get ahead and I think she’s got the wrong idea. The role of Mary should be acted for the sheer honor of doing it, quietly and humbly and with no expectation of fame or fortune.
We finish going through the script when Marilee comes to the door.
“Guess what?” Marilee says as she comes into the room with a nod for Randy and me. “I just got an e-mail from Becca.”
“Oh?” I say just like my heart isn’t starting to pound. “Is she coming tonight?”
“She said she has to do something for Joy and that it is really important or she would be here.”
“Oh.” My heart isn’t pounding so much anymore. “I see.”
Randy puts his arm back around my shoulders and gives me a little squeeze.
“I’m sure she wants to be here,” Marilee adds.
“Do you really think so?” I say as I look up at Marilee. I figure if I’m going to be more honest with the Sisterhood, it should operate both ways.
“I hope so,” Marilee says softly.
I nod. “So do I.”
“At least Rose will be here tonight,” Marilee says.
Rose has been with us through thick and thin. She was our rock in the days when we were in treatment. She’s out helping other teenagers now, so she doesn’t get to our group as often as she did in the beginning, but she makes it about once a month. I’m glad she’ll be here tonight.
Marilee goes back to her office and Randy goes to the kitchen to get ready for the dinner crowd. I sit in our room and work on my Mary list. At first, I thought I’d write out a description of Mary, but I never got organized enough to do that so I settled for making a list of observations I have made about her life after reading the books I’ve read.
My first observation is that Mary knew longing. Actually that is something I gathered from the part of the New Testament that I have read. There is an awful lot about longing in that book. Well, it’s more a longing and completion cycle. There are the thirsty ones who get water and the hungry ones who get bread and the lonely ones who get visited. Everybody needs something they don’t already have. Because of all that, I believe Mary was a girl who had dreams. She might even have had a longing for a husband and a son.
Knowing that Mary probably had those kinds of feelings makes her more real to me. Sometimes, when I read about Mary, I picture her as a teenager like I was, attending San Marino High School. She would be the shy one in the corner; the one who wanted to date the basketball star but who didn’t have the courage to even say hello to him.
I hope Joseph was Mary’s basketball star. That she found in him all she hoped for in a husband.
With all of my reading in the New Testament, I’m becoming more curious about churches. I’m debating about asking Marilee if I can go to church with her and Quinn this Sunday. Marilee talks about that place enough that she shouldn’t be surprised that I’d like to go with her.
I do some homework while I wait for the Sisterhood meeting to begin. I watch the dinner crowd come into The Pews. I’ve grown to love looking through the glass panes in these French doors. I try to imagine what the story is with different people who are on the other side having dinner. Sometimes you will see two friends laughing about something, but you can also see couples who are obviously arguing. It’s hard to guess who’s happier, though. Maybe the laughter hides tears and the anger will
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