Page 75 of Wish You Faith

“How about you, Mom?” Rosie replied.

So Mom did.

Rosie loved hearing Mom’s voice. But more so, Evan’s voice, reading the Bible in person—not over the phone or on video. His voice was clear, and he didn’t rush. When they reached Rosie’s favorite verses, she asked Evan to read Luke 2:10-11 again.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

“I’m so thankful that Jesus is my Savior,” Mom said.

“Me too,” Evan said.

“Same.” Rosie echoed their gratitude.

After they finished reading Luke 2:25-35 about Simeon, Mom looked up. “If you had a brother, your dad and I would have named him Simeon.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a brother?” Rosie wondered aloud.

“Sometimes it’s good to have a brother.” Evan chuckled. “Sometimes we can’t get away fast enough from each other.”

“When you have kids, sweetie, try to have at least two or three,” Mom said to Rosie. “Then your children won’t be alone when you’re dead and gone.”

Evan’s eyes were on Rosie, as though he was waiting to see her reaction about what Mom had just said about having kids.

“Well, Psalm 127:3 says that children are a gift from God,” Rosie replied carefully. “Whether one child or more, we have to be thankful.”

Even as she said that, she knew that Mom was right about being alone. However, Rosie had friends at church and at work, and many of them were becoming lifelong friends.

And then there was Evan. She wasn’t sure how long their relationship would last, but she knew that if Evan wanted it to last a lifetime, she had no objection.

“I love Simeon’s prayer.” Evan reread Luke 2:30-32. “It reminded me that Jesus is the light that brings revelation. For me personally, I need Him to reveal to me His perfect will for my life with Rosie. It’s possible to know because we have seen God’s salvation, which is Jesus Christ.”

“We read that in Sunday school a couple of weeks ago, didn’t we?” Rosie asked Evan.

He nodded. “Good discussion among the third graders.”

When they read about Anna the prophetess in Luke 2:36-38, Mom had something to say about that too. “We almost named you Anna, sweetie. However, your dad and I decided to combine the names of our grandmothers, one on each side. Rosette and Mary became Rosemarie.”

“There you go,” Rosie said to Evan. “Trivia of the day.”

“I like your name.”

“Thank you,” Rosie and Mom both said in unison.

After they finished reading Luke 2, it was almost nine o’clock.

Rosie opened her spiral notebook. “Any praises and prayer requests?”

“This feels like a Bible study,” Evan said.

“It is. Speaking for myself, there’s nothing better on Christmas Day than to read the Bible. If it falls on Sunday, I want to be in church.” Rosie started writing. “I want to thank God that Evan got here safely. All that flying and then driving at Christmas in the middle of the night.”

“Firstly, I want to thank the Lord for this condo,” Mom said. “It means a lot to be able to rent it at the scholarship rate.”

“Thank God for providing,” Evan said.

Rosie was pleased with his answer. He pointed to God.

“Life is too short to hold back,” Evan added.

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