The Seventh to Succeed

 

Avram had heard stories about a new land with many opportunities, but the distance to travel and the time needed to make the trip was somewhat mind-boggling. He had already surpassed his seventieth year and his wife as well. Though they had been married for fifty years, they had failed to produce any offspring. He began engaging his friends, the children of his friends and even his father about the feasibility of making the trip.

Most discouraged him from taking on such an adventure at such an old age, but there were a few who encouraged him to never stop dreaming, to never stop making goals, and to put in effort to improve himself, his wife, and his marriage. Despite their advanced age, he and Miriam still spoke of one day having children, determined to not leave this world without continuing their family line.

Several days and then several weeks passed and Avram finally made the decision to have the conversation with Miriam about selling most of their belongings, selling their home, stockpiling food and beginning the journey to the new land of many promises. They sat together at the dinner table, and he looked into the eyes of his beloved as they grew wider and wider. He saw the joy and excitement building in her and the glow of hope continue to grow as he talked.

They stood from the table, embraced in a hug that had been a daily practice for them for the last fifty years, and Miriam affirmed his decision, promising to support him as they made this exciting new decision. After several days, they watched people come and go from their home, trading their belongings for cash, until their home sat nearly empty. A real estate agent listed their home for sale after a thorough cleaning.

Avram purchased a wagon, an abundance of canned food and bottled water. He created a travel plan for them, as the distance was easily over one thousand miles through unknown lands and possible danger. Three days after listing their home, they received an offer slightly below their asking price, which they immediately accepted. The paperwork was completed and Avram and Miriam stood at the front gate of their former home, to hand over the keys to the real estate agent. Both of them released a joyous and excited sigh, knowing that hardship lay ahead of them, knowing that they would never again step into this house that had been their home for so many decades.

Avram helped Miriam climb into the wagon and turned to find that dozens of their friends and extended family had gathered around them to wish them well and good travels. He joined Miriam on the wagon bench and as they reached the edge of town, they both turned to look one last time at a community they would never again see. A final volley of waves and goodbyes was their final image of their multiple decade’s long community.

The first portion of their trip would be relatively short, as it was already noon when they departed. Following his plans to the minute, they arrived at the next town to find shelter until they would leave the next morning for a much longer trip. Each day was like the former, moving from one town to the next, from one bland hotel to the next until they reached their destination after fourteen days of travel.

They finally reached the new land of promise, moved into a new community, became friends with those nearby, built a small home, dug a well, and began to assert themselves as a benefit to the community. As time passed, Avram and Miriam bought more and more land, digging wells in each location and building altars to their god as well. Avram began a business of providing counsel in every aspect of life imaginable. Most came for financial direction, and some came for help with questions of ethics, behavior, and raising their children.

Several years passed and Avram’s business flourished and positively impacted their new community and friends. With a robust income, Avram was able to hire a maidservant for Miriam, as her age had become a problem with maintaining their home. He and Miriam were not nearly eighty years of age and Miriam suggested to him that he take the maidservant as a concubine to produce an heir before it was too late. The suggestion stirred up hope in him but also rubbed him the wrong way, feeling like doing such a thing was a breach of faithfulness to his wife.

After Miriam insistence, Avram finally relented, approached the maidservant with Miriam and came to an agreement for the two of them to produce an heir for he and Miriam. This became a new routine for them. Each morning after breakfast, he and the maidservant would slip away to a backroom and engage one another. After three weeks of said engagement, the maidservant announced to both Avram and Miriam that their efforts finally came to fruition.

He and Miriam woke one morning to the sound of a large, angry crowd that had gathered outside of their home. Word had begun spreading that everything Avram was teaching was contrary to the wellbeing of the community, and contrary to their faithfulness to their god. Fearing for their safety, Avram began planning for a way to escape to another community. They remained silent and out of sight until the crowd dispersed. As darkness settled that evening, he, Miriam, and the maid servant loaded all their necessary belongings into the wagon, and they slipped away unannounced.

As they traveled Avram created a new plan, a new direction, and a time frame for his new offspring. They traveled for seventeen days to finally reach their new community. Seven more months passed, and the maid servant gave birth to their son. When Miriam saw the joy in both the maid servant’s eyes and in Avram’s eyes, she could feel anger and disappointment swelling up within her.

“Avram,” she said, “I can no longer bear to look upon the maid servant and her son. You must send them away. It may still be possible for you and me to have a child. We need to try for several weeks like you did with her. This child needs to be ours, not yours and hers.” Avram could feel himself withering inside at the thought of finally having a son and having to send him away. He sent Miriam from the room and called the maid servant to speak with him. He explained the situation, gave her money to travel, and apologized for the way that it had all taken place.

One year later, Avram and Miram gave birth to their own son, now established in their new community. They watched their boy grow in strength, in wisdom, and in kindness. One day as their son reached maturity, word reached Avram’s ears that the maid servant and her son had returned to the community and were demanding a large portion of Avram’s estate, for their son was the true heir of everything that Avram owned.

Once again, Avram gave the maidservant a large portion of money and again sent her away. He and Miriam grew old, watched their son marry, and produce sons for himself. The family line of Avram and Miriam now began to grow, overtake and influence the community. Many generations came and went. Some succeeded, some failed, but the family line of Avram and Miriam continued to grow and spread throughout the land.

Six generations developed over time, sometimes succeeding in their efforts, but many times failing to remain good and faithful to the original plan of growing the family line. It was with the seventh generation that a wonderous young man was born who set everything straight, organized a new approach to life and how to structure reality for his many descendants, his many friends, and acquaintances.

His brilliance, his love for others, his philanthropy, and his overall good nature became the standard by which everyone began to shape their lives. The new mantra became "Shape your life to be an imitation of Manuel.” Over time, Manuel established a new world order but refused to become involved in politics, preferring instead to focus his efforts on positively influencing his culture, helping those in need, and teaching anyone who was willing to listen and imitate him.

In a surprise move, Manuel gathered his closest friends and communicated his plan to depart from the area, leaving his best friend Honorio in charge of the direction of this new approach to life that he had established. Decades and centuries passed, and all of those who had embraced Manuel’s approach to life continued to positively impact their community, the communities around them, and even communities that existed a great distance from them.

Word began to spread that Manuel would one day return and make everything right, bringing to justice those who had rejected his teaching and lifestyle, and finalizing a new reality for everyone in every community and in every land. Those whom Manuel had left in charge, continued his work, raised up others to continue the work, and with each passing generation, peace, love, kindness, and philanthropy continued as well. Each generation documented the successes and failures of their time, resulting in a glorious history of the line of Avram.

As was promised, Manuel eventually returned, made everything right, and removed those who had opposed him from positions of power and authority, ultimately bringing peace and stability to the original community, the other communities, and the entire land at large.