Some stuff to climb over

Maria was supposed to have colon surgery the day before her graduation but she begged off. Instead, the morning of the ceremony, she was washing the plates and cups.

“You need to rest!” Harlan scolded her.

She smiled sweetly at him and sat down – until he wasn’t looking. Then she picked up the dish towel again.

After breakfast, she hurried downtown to pick up her book and then came back to try on her cap and gown.

Maria met Jesus about 6 years ago, to her husband’s anger. He kicked her out of the house then and eventually divorced her. She lived with a son for a while, but he tired of her talk about Jesus and sent her away.

So, with nowhere to go, she came to the seminary in Merida, Yucatan and helps with household chores in exchange for room and board. She took a full course of study at the seminary and on graduation day, she walked downtown to pick up her bound dissertation – a heavily footnoted study of God’s sovereignty.

A week before graduation, a doctor discovered she has colon cancer. He scheduled immediate surgery but she begged him to wait. She had to graduate first.

Maria runs the seminary bookstore, a tiny shop in the market that sells Christian books at a discounted price. The shop produces a minuscule income for the seminary but mostly provides good Christian books at a reasonable price.

Quietly, Maria goes about her day-to-day activities. Her son stopped by the bookstore on Monday after graduation and her face lit up with love and joy to see him.

“Gloria Dios!” She told me at every turn. “Glory to God!”

What else matters?