I write this blog about, and with the permission of, a saint of our congregation. Her name is Marilyn but she goes by the names of Aunt Marilyn or Miss Marilyn. She is truly a saint, full of good works, and the resiliency to adapt her good works based on her declining energy. I won’t disclose her age, but she does remember the attack on Pearl Harbor and that should give you some idea.
She is an elder and in the past she has been a member of our governing board (Consistory) and has served as vice-president of that body. Her outstanding achievements have been in cooking and hospitality. She reads cook-books like novels and has graced us with her culinary skills at many church functions, as well as the dinners served at community groups. But this is not her outstanding achievement. That is her care for the homeless in our area.
Several times a year our congregation feeds the hungry of our area at the Bergen County Shelter. In years gone by, Elder Marilyn has cooked, coordinated and served at these events. She has lamented recently that health problems have precluded her ability to actively participate in this feeding program. For a woman who has always been active in hospitality, this was heart-breaking. But, she is a resilient saint. She found a way to be a part of our recent dinner-hosting.
Elder Marilyn started two weeks before the event and began baking home-made cookies for those that we would serve. She prepared 105 zip-lock bags, each containing one each of five different types of cookies. Being afraid of running short, she then 40 extra bags of cookies. These did not all have the same variety, but were equally home baked, and good. If she was not able to serve one way, she served another.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Marilyn could not serve one way, but found another way. I wish that all of us in Christ’s family had the burning desire to serve as she serves, and the adaptability to find new ways of doing it. She is a role model for all of us. Many people admire her. My advice is if you admire her, imitate her. Be faithful to Christ. Serve as she serves. As old ways of serving no longer work, find new ways.
This is a tribute to Marilyn, an adaptable saint and role model. Let us all live as faithfully as she does!
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