Sometimes when we dream, our dreams come true, in extraordinary ways. Suddenly a day can be so amazing!
I have the honor and privilege of playing the fierce and opinionated Aunt March in the upcoming Kenai Performers version of “Little Women: The Musical.” Her mission in life is to turn the young March girls into sophisticated, worldly women. She has no qualms about critiquing free spirits and back-talking, but what I really love about her is that she desperately wants these women to find their place in the world. Each sister approaches life a bit differently. Meg, the classic eldest, finds her love early and marries happily. Jo, the energetic and adventurous author, writes elaborate stories and takes grand adventures. Beth, the sweet and musical one. And Amy, the baby of the family, wanting to have her “firsts” and is tired of the hand-me-downs.
As we’ve been learning our lines, remembering our places onstage, trying to get comfortable maneuvering in hoop skirts, I’ve been thinking about the ways in which we function in our own lives. Sometimes, we’re a bit more adventurous, launching out on our own and writing our own grand story. Other times, we’re a bit more subdued, staying to the back and supporting others’ stories.
One of my favorite Christian concepts comes from the Apostle Paul’s writings to the early communities about being many parts of one body. He tells the community of Corinth and Rome that each body part plays a different role. A foot shouldn’t be mad that it’s not a hand, because it has foot things it can do! And the ear shouldn’t be mad that it’s not an eye, but each part of the body is important and needed (Paraphrased from 1 Cor. 12).
Just as our stage performance of “Little Women,” would be incomplete without Meg, Jo, Beth, AND Amy, our lives our incomplete without the gifts of one another. Perhaps you’re the friend who will show up with a pot of soup for a sick friend, but really can’t afford to donate to their child’s fundraiser. Maybe you’re the person whose body hurts too much to pick up trash, but you can donate an organization that will find people who will.
Whether you’re a bit more adventurous like Jo or prefer the comfort of home like Meg, we are all parts of the body, supporting one another in different ways, with our different skills and gifts.
Meredith Harber is pastor at Christ Lutheran Church at 128 N. Soldotna Avenue in Soldotna. Worship is at 10 a.m. on Sundays in person or on Facebook Live.
