Maryann Austin

       If you are an atheist, what I have to say will make no sense to you.  Stop reading here.  But if you are someone who professes to be a Christ follower and you support same sex marriage, I hope that you read on.  And I hope that you consider the following point. Reasonable people would agree that abuse and unfaithfulness in marriage are unacceptable.  But for a time I lived with these things.  I remember stating,  “These are not my rules.”  But he viewed me as a killjoy who sought to steal his freedom, and the relationship was destroyed.  I am reminded of those times as I watch the news of late.   Should the Federal ban on gay marriage be lifted?  Tweets and Facebook posts abound.  “Screw the haters!”  “Equal rights for everyone!”  “Love is love!”  Each side views the other as angry.   Few would debate that rules are designed to protect.  From the time we are tiny children, we learn   Don’t hit.  Don’t steal.  Don’t lie .  And as we mature, we learn more complex rules.

The Giving Tree I hadn’t even reached my tenth birthday when I first read The Giving Tree.  One of the priests talked about it in a homily at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Holbrook, NY and I thought it was something I would like to read.  It was magical for me when I was a child.  The simple words.  The simple pictures.  The simple story of unconditional love.  So easy to grasp as a babe.  The idea of turning the other cheek and remaining in a spirit of love no matter what. And I still have the beat up copy that I bought way back when with babysitting money.  Thirty some odd years later, the little book is a cherished volume in the collection of my six year old son.  But for a number of years, it rested in the bottom of a cardboard box.  And it narrowly escaped a trip to the Salvation Army or the dump a number of times--I think by the grace of God Himself. In case there are a couple of people in the world who have not read this wonderful story, I will give a tiny summary

I heard on the news today that the average life expectancy for women living in rural areas has dropped.  This was not good news to me as I am a woman living in a rural area.  The report cited lack of education and obesity as determining factors.     The study did not specify what is meant by lack of education.  But there are two possible ways to interpret this idea.  Perhaps the suggestion is that the women who are dying younger are not college graduates and, therefore, have lower incomes and cannot afford good medical care--a truth that I have experienced first hand.  Another way to interpret the “lack of education” might be a lack of knowledge about health and nutrition. I don’t challenge the accuracy of the report, but I am offended (maybe appalled is a better word) by the causes.  So it is coldly reported that fat and stupid middle-aged women, like myself, are kicking the bucket earlier--and it is because we are fat and stupid and poor.   I am definitely poor…compared to a