Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God

Introduction:Controlling Interest Let but the puppets move, I've my desire. - C H A R L E S C H U R C H I L L Donna gazed at the stack of mail in her husband's gloved hands as he stomped the wet snow from his shoes. "Anything interesting?" she asked, keeping her tone light. He handed over the day's bounty from their mailbox. "See for yourself." Donna quickly sorted through the belated Christmas cards, made thicker by family brag letters. Next yearshemight have something to crow about. If all went well, their son, Max, would be a freshman at the finest Christian college in the country. That is,if... With a slight gasp she tossed the rest of the mail on the kitchen table, having found the one piece that mattered: a long, white envelope with the familiar blue logo in the corner.Yes.The school had promised a decision by December 31, still two days away. Surely a good sign. She hefted the envelope in her hands, trying to judge how many pieces of paper it might contain. The letter had some weight to it. More than a kindly worded rejection, then. Donna smiled, savoring the moment. Obviously her prayers had been answered. And months of hard work had paid offvisiting college campuses, completing online applications, gathering letters of reference, proofreading essays, forwarding transcripts. She'd drafted the cover letter herself. Made sure everything looked presentable. Max hadn't seemed terribly interested, and she had a flair for such things, didn't she? Her husband looked over her shoulder. "So we've heard from The College of Your Choice." Donna shrugged, pretending his gentle teasing didn't bother her. Wasn't she allowed to have an opinion about where their son spent the next four years of his life? True, he'd been accepted at other schools, butthiswas the one that counted. The admission policy was far more stringent and the list of alumni far more impressive. And the campus...oh, thecampus! Handsome as any Ivy League school with its stately brick buildings and manicured lawns. Last October she'd strolled along the neatly paved walkways, imaginingshewas the incoming freshman: attending classes in well-appointed lecture halls, learning from the brightest and the best thinkers, meeting students from all over the world. On the long drive home, Max had chided her, "Why don'tyouapply, Mom?" She'd heard the hint of frustration in his voice. Had she pushed too hard, praised the school too enthusiastically? Meeting one-on-one with the admissions counselor might have been overdoing it. But the young woman had offered to answer prospective students' questions. Couldn't a mother ask them just as well while her son perused the campus bookstore? Her husband disturbed her reverie as he slipped his damp coat over the back of a kitchen chair. "Youaregoing to wait until Max gets home to open that." His firm words chafed against her conscience. "Of course." Donna propped the envelope against the napkin holder, where it couldn't be missed. "I'm not in the habit of reading other people's mail." When Max finally strolled in an hour later, she grabbed the envelope from the table and waved it at him. "Look what's here." Her son opened it without comment, then sighed and handed it over. "Here you go, Mom." Donna scanned the first three wordsCongratulations! Your application before letting out a huge whoop. "Max, I'm so proud of you!Higgs, Liz Curtis is the author of 'Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God', published 2007 under ISBN 9781400072125 and ISBN 1400072123.