The Bishop - Chapter Sixteen: Judy Licks Her Wounds

 Chapter Sixteen: Judy Licks Her Wounds

Tony was smiling as Maddie told him the story over lunch. 

"I'm not under any illusions, Tony, that she still won't come out swinging but I was so proud of Reg. He really shut her down. He was filled with such self-confidence when he described the whole thing...but what was even more amazing was that I would have thought that he would have needed to blow off some steam, but instead...well, it was just amazing the peace he experienced and the compassion he felt for her."

"He's actually a really kind man," Tony said, "Sometimes kind people need to be affirmed that kindness is actually a strength, not a weakness."

"Yes, it was amazing to see Reg recognize this. I think for the first time in his life, perhaps, he realized that he is strong, and that strength isn't just the property of the bullies."

"True strength is not something that bullies have at all, Maddie.  It's true, some people are fighters, and they come by it honestly, it's their gift, and they use that gift appropriately. You're a fighter, Maddie, but you use your strength and your passion to fight for people who can't fight, and more than that to empower them and encourage them. You could have taken her down, but Reg needed to have the opportunity to learn that he is strong, too; that he can stand up to her on his own terms, in his own way. You taught him how to do that. I admire you for that."

"Thank you, Tony," she said, dropping her gaze with an uncharacteristic shyness.

"It's one of the things that makes you a good priest - you see the God-given strengths and gifts in others and you encourage them, support them, you help people to live into their strengths and even to recognize that what they thought was weakness might actually be a strength.  And even more importantly, you never take advantage of someone's vulnerability, the way Judy does."

"Witnessing Reg's compassion for her...maybe I can even feel a bit of compassion for her myself.  Now that's a miracle." They both laughed. "But seriously," she continued, what must it be like to be her? She carries so much pain. I wish I could help her rather than fight her."

"It sounds to me like fighting might be the only way she knows to connect with people. Maybe it's the only way she knows how to be in relationship with others," Tony mused.

It was true. All of Judy's relationships revolved around a pattern of fighting, shaming, making up and then beginning the cycle again. "I hate you - don't leave me" could have been her motto. What made her this way? I can't say. No one I have ever met who knew Judy Jumblejump was ever able to get close enough to her to know what made her tick, what damage had been done to her early in life that turned her into a vicious fighter and manipulator.  Not even Mr. Perkins, who knew her and worked with her for years, who came to be able to handle her with expert care, not even he could get close enough to her to discover her secret.  People only experienced the damage she wrought on others.  Most people knew she was trying to do good, but the way she went about it was so hurtful that most people just wanted to stay clear of her and a good many hated her.  Yet, is this not exactly the sort of lost soul that our Lord left the other ninety-nine for?

Both Tony and Maddie knew that Judy would be regrouping, licking her wounds and preparing for the next round.  They could only guess at what she might attempt next, but they could be sure of one thing: Judy had no intention of relinquishing her role as church warden for she felt that being a church warden was her God-given vocation and calling. The church needed her, she believed. Hampton's Corners would never survive as a parish without her leadership, stewardship, and direction.  

As it turns out, Judy did have a plan. She had decided that if Maddie would not re-appoint her as Rector's Warden, she would run in the next vestry meeting against that young upstart, Cristina Marlowe, whom Maddie had arranged to be nominated to replace Reg as he moved from role of People's Warden to that of Rector's Warden.  Who was she to think she could unseat Judy in her divinely appointed calling?  Judy would ensure this would never happen.

Why should someone strive so earnestly for a role in which they are no longer wanted and which shall surely be fraught with conflict and contention?  The truth is that Christ Church, Hampton's Corners was the only place that would have Judy.  She could not wield the sort of power she wielded there anywhere else in her life or out in the world.  The Church was her home, and people accepted her for who she was, more or less. Yes, she was intimidating, obnoxious, and fearsome, but she was theirs.  She was one of their own and in some strange way, they loved her.  She was a hard worker and took on the thankless jobs no one else ever wanted to do. Her bullishness got her the results she wanted and that the church often needed. Yes, the Church was indeed her home and the people of Hampton's Corners were her family (a dysfunctional family to be sure), and perhaps this makes it all the more understandable why she was so devastated, so angry that Maddie had sidelined her and had turned her friends, like Reg, against her.  Yes, she would run as People's Warden and so she immediately embarked on a campaign of coercion and intimidation to get her fellow parishioners to elect her. She would not be thrown out of her own home.