The Unloved, Unwanted

My dad has a friend (I'll call her Mary) who is one of those needy people. You know, the kind that most of us avoid because they demand too much and disrupt our days. Mary has a big heart, but she also has a big problem. She likes her wine. And when she drinks too much, she gets a bit loud and obnoxious. This behavior has earned her the title of 'crazy woman' and has caused her many heartaches, though she really doesn't perceive this as the cause of her problems. The folks at the senior apartment complex where Mary lives are finally fed up with her. They have complained to the management. So this week she is moving. It's not her first move. It may not be her last. So, surely, Mary is to blame for her own troubles, right?

Well, not exactly. Whey my dad is around Mary does much better. He offers her friendship, not condemnation. She says he 'edifies' her. And although she is sometimes not very nice to him, he overlooks much of her rudeness and continues to be her friend. If there had been just one person in the complex who could have loved Mary as she is, perhaps she could have stayed there. There were those there who invited others to church and had their Jesus bumper stickers and carried their Bibles. Yet not one of them could love the unlovely. How sad.

I'm so glad that Jesus loves even the unlovable. That means there is hope for all the Mary's. That means there's hope for me, too, when I have my unlovable moments.

My dad is not a church goer. He doesn't claim to be a Christian. He does have a Bible, but I don't know if he reads it. Still, he has shown the heart of Jesus to one that the 'Christians' rejected and drove away. In my mind, that makes him a champion.

Oh, I should add that Mary has no family that cares about her either. Never married, no children, she states she has only a few distant relatives who treat her much the same as her neighbors. Perhaps, after she is settled in her new home, Mary will turn over a new leaf. Only God knows. But in the meantime, may God surround her with those who can see the 'gold' He has deposited in her and who will love the unlovely and care for the unwanted. And for those who can't, they have their reward. They have no Mary's in their lives, and none of the blessings that come through the sacrifice of caring about people like her.