Letter to Maria (part 2)

hit the streets and win souls? Yep! Boyfriend? Nope. Why? Well,
there were some relationships before, but now her family has decided to
pioneer Timbuktu and she has decided to go along, help them out, be the 4th
TRF member, raise funds, etc. In other words, she has sacrificed many, many
things that most young people hold dear, like fellowship, activities, friends,
etc. Fair enough, again, part and parcel of Family life in a small Home. She
is certainly willing to do this because her most important goal is to serve
the Lord. (And that's really what matters, not some minor misdemeanors, or at
least that's how she feels and what she tries to live by.) Oh yeah, there are
plenty of cuties down the road that offer to be “more than friends” almost
daily ... but no, they have their status and she has hers, and it stays that
way.
Her mom's response to her desire to have someone to be close to? “Oh, hun,
what do the Letters say? If you want a boyfriend, go out and win one to the
Family!” Pretty simple‚ right? But is this notion realistic? I don't think so.
More like a rather cruel mockery of her situation. OK, so she bites back her
emotions, sticks her heartache deep down somewhere in her heart, and goes back
to the kids and the pots and detergent. See, she's probably a literal angel.
She believes in her heart that as she obeys and does what she thinks is the
Lord's highest bidding and abides in her calling, that the Lord will bless her
eventually. She knows that He sees her heart and loves her and will give her
the things that her heart and body craves sooner or later.
Back to the regular day: After the whole week is through, the weekend spent
fundraising ... countless diapers changed and other people's burdens and
trials carried all week, finally it's Monday. WNR. Time to flush. Take some
time off, kick back and chill. Let's see...what can we do? How about the
cinema? Alright! Let's go ... Cool, she has an IMAX free entry coupon someone
gave her. Couldn't afford it on her “personal needs money allowance”
anyway.Oh‚ wait! Here's Uncle P. He says that she shouldn't go to the movies
because they haven't been rated yet. Rated?
Is this young person such a stupid idiot that she can't discern what's good
for her to watch? Let's not forget that this young person has been in the
Family for 20 years now. Also, let's not forget that the movie ratings come
out so late that if you were to follow the ratings to a T, you'd probably end
up never going to the cinema, ever! Because as soon as the ratings come out,
there's something new (and hence unrated) playing in the theatre.
Of course, her natural (and I feel, justifiable) reaction is to get upset and
express herself in an unchristian manner‚ but no. She stifles the urge to be
rude, and instead she swallows, almost smiles, and walks back in. (This young
person is a saint, by the way. You should see me in a similar situation:
unfortunately, I am not so willing to put up with small-minded people
deliberately sabotaging any chance I have at fun.) But she stays cool, no
problem. She's not going to let that ruin her only day to herself.
She gets on the phone and calls up one of the Home's sheep that also happens
to own an ice-skating rink. “Sure,” he says, “you can come down all day as far
as I'm concerned. I'll call the manager so he'll be ready for you.” So…
Young person: “Dad, I'm outta here ... going skating.”
Dad: “Great! I hope you have fun!” So she grabs her skates, socks, jacket,
home cell phone, prays, thanks the Lord for giving her this treat to cheer her
up, and off she goes. Then the cell phone rings. It's Dad. He sounds sad and
then she listens for the inevitable.
Dad: “Listen, Uncle P. just came to me rather upset that you didn't think
about the two-by-two rule before going out.” This can't be happening, but it
is… … again!
Young person: “What's wrong with him, Dad? Doesn't he want me to do anything?
Actually the rule did cross my mind, but you know as well as I do that there
simply is nobody to go out with as a partner. Instead of going out skating‚ do
you want me to stay in the house and rot?”
Dad: “I'll talk to him, Honey, I'll call you back in five...”
Let's skip the next few minutes, 'cause we all know what's going on. In other
words, what is happening is that Uncle P. is diligently showing Dad in the
Charter where it says that Family members must go two-by-two unless it's
“unavoidable.” (Funny how this is applied almost exclusively to young people
who want to go out‚ isn't it?) Anyway, the Charter must be obeyed. Skating is
by no means an “unavoidable” circumstance. After all, it's a luxury, right? So
she walks home, bursts into Uncle P.'s room and asks what the heck is his
problem! Can't say I blame her.