“In our endless search for strong, godly role models for women, we usually do not think of checking out the local high school for prospective candidates. Contrary to conventional wisdom, which teaches us to look for role models among Christians who are older than ourselves and to expect less of the young, the Bible often showcases exemplary young people whose hearts belonged to God and who gave up everything to follow him. Despite crushing odds, they held their ground against the Enemy and stood firm, and often alone, in their faith. . . . We make precious little out of the fact that the woman who plays such a central role in the unfolding of God’s plan in history and in the church–Mary of Nazareth–was only a young teenager when first introduced in Scripture. . . . God’s redemptive purposes for all humankind dangled by the slender thread of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old Jewish girl. Who would believe that thread could be so strong?”