AT HOME IN MITFORD - WEEK 7 CHAPTERS 11 - 12

AT HOME IN MITFORD by Jan Karon

I don't know about you, but ""moving" is the word that sums up so much of this week's reading. Beginning with the man Father Tim finds in the sanctuary crying out to God, there are deep waters to navigate in these chapters. How many times we forget "God with us." I know I am guilty of this. Then Olivia Davenport. How did you feel about Father Tim's request of her? She leaves her old home to have a chance at life without her diagnosis hanging over her, and she falls in love with the one man who has already lost his wife and barely recovered from it. Father Tim is the one that has to share the news with him. We can't forget Dooley in the middle of all of this. Russell Jack's case of pneumonia puts Dooley with Father Tim for Christmas. A place this little boy doesn't want to be. Everyone's suspicions about the bicycle come true. He disappears for days, and we learn about the alcohol addicted mother who gave her five children away. Somewhere out there are Dooley's four siblings. Suddenly our understanding of Dooley begins to take shape. Maybe Puny's right. Maybe it isn't strong discipline that this young boy needs, but love and steadiness that seem to have escaped him his entire life. (Yes, he is with Russell now who clearly loves him, but I find it telling that Dooley commands him not to die. Upheaval is stirring again with the threat if it.) So what does he do? He jumps on his bike and rides to his Momma. No one else knows where she is, but Dooley does. (I would imagine Russell does as well.) His mother sends him back. The relief for us readers, but also the heartbreak.

If that isn't enough we have so many other things packed into these chapters - jewels and ashes (Did you gasp when Father Tim realized that the ashes have been worked into the flowerbed?), the worry about Cynthia spending time with someone else, and all the responsibilities piling up on our Father. My mental image of this is every burner on the stove covered with boiling pots all demanding attention at the same time. I am wondering if the chapter title "An Empty Vessel" is alluding to more than an empty urn.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!