Eternal Gift

In far too much of current religious fiction the characters are bland, two dimensional people.  They seldom struggle and always do the right thing.  In the dozen or so works about Mary and Joseph produced over the past sixty years, the authors consistently present her as a gee-whiz girlthe sweetest in the village, tending lambs that nuzzle her ankles.  Marys mother never worries.  Her daughter always obeys and blushes when she thinks of Joseph.  Eternal Gift takes a vastly different approach.  The story shows how God opened the mind and soul of a vivacious Jewish girl to prepare her for the staggering role of mother to His Son.  In order to gain the spiritual depth needed for the arduous life before her, God leads Mary to understand His purpose in sending a Messiah.  She learns to read, travels in her fathers caravan, makes difficult choices, suffers great loss, and moves through a magic pool to the edge of eternity.  There are spies, vengeful relatives, a jealous rival, and an enigmatic mentor adding spice to the narrative.  The tale also reveals how God changed Josephs life from unflagging trust in Hebrew theology to grasping the rudiments of grace and atonement.  The son of a wealthy builder in Jerusalem, Joseph causes the death of a friend because of his own resolute obedience to the Law.  Later, his father disinherits him for failing to accept an arranged marriage to the High Priests daughter.  Blinded by his ultrapious character, Joseph must learn out of personal degradation how God deals with men in ways unbounded by human perception.  These are real people, dealing with doubt, fear, pain, and rebellion.  The story views each players strengths and weaknesses but never departs from Biblical accuracy, church traditions, or the realities of Jewish culture.  It speaks to anyone who desires to see this outstanding pair in the same context God used to prepare a murderer to lead His people out of Egypt, to restore a whoremonger to crush the Philistines in the temple of Dagon, and redeem an adulterer to write the most beautiful songs the world knows.  Mary remains the most revered woman of all time.  Eternal Gift only sharpens and brightens her image.  This work addresses not just the interest of Evangelicals, but millions of Catholics as well.  The manuscript was explained to Father Paul Coury, an editor at Ligourian Press.  Two questions were asked:  would the story offend? and would it appeal?  He found nothing offensive and speculated especially young Catholics might enjoy the innovative approach to how Mary came to be the godly woman she was.  Eternal Gift far surpasses a simple romance.  It sounds the depths of human experience with God, vibrates with the bright tapestry of Jewish culture, and sparkles with adventure.