Joe Carpenter and Marie Virgente were made
for each other. They lived here in Lacy,
Ohio. Marie was a tall, heavy-set, young woman with curly black hair. Her gorgeous smile and bubbly blue eyes made
her an instant favorite with everyone she met.
Marie never met stranger because almost everyone she met become her
friend. Having known Marie for several
years, she was truly authentic, kind, and true in her Christian beliefs.
At the age of twenty-three, Marie
graduated from a university in Emerald City with her degree in home economics. She
planned to be a mother and also work in the restaurant her parents owned. Just recently, her childhood sweetheart Joe
Carpenter proposed to her, which she accepted. The sparkling diamond engagement
ring on her finger meant that Joe loved her, and intended to be her husband no
matter what came there way.
In order to give them both plenty of time
to plan a beautiful wedding, a year from this October had been chosen. The
planning stage for a wedding was mind boggling. It was interesting to see Joe and
Marie side by side. Joe was quite a bit shorter and six years older than Marie. I had become intimately acquainted with both
of them through a mutual friend, Angel Shepherds-Wisemen.
Over the years, I've chatted endlessly
about how I hoped we would both find our soul mates. Once Marie met Joe she couldn't help but
share her joy with me. (We’d known each other since third grade.) I was
overjoyed for her. Her fiancee, Joe Carpenter,
worked in his uncle's furniture making business. (What an appropriate last
name.) His large hands were calloused and scared from creating fine hand-made
furniture pieces in his uncle's furniture shop, which had been in business for
twenty years. Joe’s spiky red hair and short stalky physique could appear
rather rough to the average person. He
treated Marie tenderly with the love and respect she deserved.
Three months have passed since the wonderful
engagement announcement of Joe and Marie.
An awful rumor has been
spreading around about
Marie, which she herself verified to me as the truth. Marie is pregnant with another man’s child. Joe and I have talked, and he is so
emotionally devastated. He loves Marie
so much, but this is more than he can deal with.
He's wondering if maybe the engagement
should be broken off. For some reason,
Marie refuses to tell Joe, family, or friends who the father is right now. She even told me I wouldn't believe her if I
heard the name straight from her lips. If this story sounds vaguely familiar,
the true account is recorded for all to read in the books of Matthew and Luke. Relive the fascinating story of Joseph, Mary, and
their wonderful Baby (that changed the world).
It's the miraculous story we love to hear every holiday season, but need
to live throughout the year.
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