When Everyone Counts on You

June has barely tasted her own birthday cake when somebody asks who's taking Mama home. "I can," she says, already getting up.

Her sister looks at the fork still in June's hand. "She asked if you knew who was taking her."

Pam saved her the corner piece with the blue icing rose. She remembers which piece June liked when she was eight. What she doesn't know is that June took a Thursday off work three weeks ago, just to sit by the window with a library book she's already renewed three times. By the time Pam finishes telling her about Mama's appointment, June has volunteered that day away. How was Pam supposed to know? June didn't even let her finish the question.

It takes four tries to write the text asking her sister to share the Thursday drives. Pam's answer comes late that night. She can do the first and third Thursdays. She's also still a little mad. June types her thank-you, then sits with her thumb over the screen. She knows exactly what to say to make this easier on both of them. She could take it all back.

In ten connected chapters, Rose Maren follows June through family suppers, waiting rooms, and the awkward business of letting people who love her do things their own way. Woven through her story are reflections on Scripture, including the moment Jesus stops on a crowded road and lets Bartimaeus say for himself what he wants.

When Everyone Counts on You is a Christian devotional for the woman who offers to pick up milk because the car will be quiet. If somebody you love has ever called, "Hang on, I'll ride with you," you may know June already.