Alice's Hindsight
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series II Cycle A
Alice would be the first to admit that she was too young when she got married. She had two children before she realized she had made a terrible mistake. Like many young women she held romantic visions of what marriage would be like. She thought her life would be different, wonderful somehow. Instead her husband was, well, let's just say inattentive to her needs. It took all the courage and strength she had to leave her husband but she realized she had to for her own peace of mind.
Life was anything but easy for a divorced mother with two young children. She was the first person in her extended family to be divorced. Besides all the pain that comes from a break-up of a marriage she felt additional pain as some of her friends kept their distance. Even in her church, the church she grew up in, the only church she had ever attended, she felt rejected. Alice had a difficult time for a long while.
During her time of struggle Alice's faith was rekindled. She had attended church all her life, but for some reason her faith never really clicked. As her young children approached school age she met a wonderful Christian man whom she would eventually marry. For the first time in a long time Alice was happy.
Alice had a passion to share her faith with others in her community, especially the young people. This was her personal mission to help others avoid what she went through. She started teaching Sunday School and before too long was leading the youth fellowship on Sunday evenings.
Alice continued growing in her faith as she taught and led the youth. She had questions to ask, hoping that her pastor could answer. One day she asked her pastor if he believed God brought people together in relationships. The pastor was too quick with his answer. "No," he told her as he went on to explain that people meet each other randomly, often through circumstance.
Alice was disappointed in his answer. She had hoped he would have said yes because that was how she felt -- that God had brought her and her husband together.
One evening Alice was speaking with her youth fellowship when she shared her favorite scripture passage. The Bible verses that meant the most to her in her faith walk were found in Romans 8, she told the teenagers as she read. It was an authentic moment as Alice spoke of her faith in the deep conviction that no matter what happened in her life that God was there, never deserting her. She did not always understand why she had to experience some difficult times, but now that she looked back she could see the Lord helping her though her worst days.
She only spoke for a couple of minutes. She hoped that if there was one thing these youth would remember it was what she had just said.
Life was anything but easy for a divorced mother with two young children. She was the first person in her extended family to be divorced. Besides all the pain that comes from a break-up of a marriage she felt additional pain as some of her friends kept their distance. Even in her church, the church she grew up in, the only church she had ever attended, she felt rejected. Alice had a difficult time for a long while.
During her time of struggle Alice's faith was rekindled. She had attended church all her life, but for some reason her faith never really clicked. As her young children approached school age she met a wonderful Christian man whom she would eventually marry. For the first time in a long time Alice was happy.
Alice had a passion to share her faith with others in her community, especially the young people. This was her personal mission to help others avoid what she went through. She started teaching Sunday School and before too long was leading the youth fellowship on Sunday evenings.
Alice continued growing in her faith as she taught and led the youth. She had questions to ask, hoping that her pastor could answer. One day she asked her pastor if he believed God brought people together in relationships. The pastor was too quick with his answer. "No," he told her as he went on to explain that people meet each other randomly, often through circumstance.
Alice was disappointed in his answer. She had hoped he would have said yes because that was how she felt -- that God had brought her and her husband together.
One evening Alice was speaking with her youth fellowship when she shared her favorite scripture passage. The Bible verses that meant the most to her in her faith walk were found in Romans 8, she told the teenagers as she read. It was an authentic moment as Alice spoke of her faith in the deep conviction that no matter what happened in her life that God was there, never deserting her. She did not always understand why she had to experience some difficult times, but now that she looked back she could see the Lord helping her though her worst days.
She only spoke for a couple of minutes. She hoped that if there was one thing these youth would remember it was what she had just said.
