In The Fullness of Time & 
They Called Him Messiah  
An outreach of Bridgeover by
Melly Meadows McCutcheon

I remember a time my mother and I were riding in the car talking. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about, but I know it was about one of my ideas or dreams. Mom said to me, "Melly, do you see the star out there - the bright one near the moon? " Then she said, "Go get it tiger!" She wasn't talking about chasing stars; she was really talking about dreaming big. My mother's favorite saying about me was, "No one ever told the bumble bee he couldn't fly." But that's how God works. He uses the simple things to confound the wise.

My mother has taught me a lot. She was truly a lady with compassion and it was her inner strength that has brought me to where I am today.  Mom has always had a way of bringing out the best in a person. She would bring home strangers for dinner, give her coat away, or teach a widow to balance a checkbook. It was her desire to help others that led us to develop Bridgeover, a non-profit organization founded over 25 years ago that I am so proud to be the president and director of!

Mom divorced when I was five and my sister, Marti, was six. Work was a necessity for her, but she also wanted to spend time with Marti and me. Jean, a dear friend that has since passed away, encouraged Mom to quit her job, drive a school bus for health insurance, and start her own business. That is just what she did. Mom started her own tax business, and Marti and I helped. We all worked very hard. We cut grass, tarred roofs, and learned office skills.

It was when my sister Marti got married that I was inspired to write a Christmas musical. I remembered watching Mom tell Marti good-bye.  After Marti had left the church on her wedding day, my mother didn’t know that I was watching her and what she did left an indelible impression on my life.  Mom went into Marti’s dressing room and gathered Marti’s wedding gown from the floor.  She looked at it lovingly and then she held the dress close to her chest and hugged it as if she were hugging my sister.  It was as if time stood still as I watch my mother cry and hold that dress so close to her heart.  I realized then that my mother had held Marti and I near to her heart everyday of our life.   It was Christmastime, and I started to think about how hard it must have been for Mary’s mother to tell her good-bye.  After all, Mary could have been stoned because of her condition.  I decided to write the story of Mary's Mother.  Then, I thought about Mary and how I would feel if God had called me to do something so brave and special, so I wrote the story of Mary from my own perspective.  The other characters began to follow and soon a musical was being developed.  In writing the musical, I realized that God had called me to do something very special and I have felt a kindred spirit to Mary since.

It was a special childhood memory that led me to name the first musical fifteen years ago “Happy Birthday Jesus”. I was very young, and it was Christmastime. We didn't have much money, and Mom was discouraged because she knew that there wouldn't be much under the tree for her little girls. Marti and I honestly didn't care. We were happy because we had each other. We decided to have a birthday party for Jesus. We went to the store and bought the ingredients for a birthday cake, candles included. Once the icing was on and the candles were lit, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. That was my favorite Christmas Eve! We had only been asleep for a few hours when Mom woke us up. She was crying and said, "Girls, Santa couldn't leave much this year, but there's something special for you both under the tree." Her dear friend Jean, had made Marti and me Cabbage Patch dolls. Marti and I were thrilled! Mom helped us find our old baby clothes in the attic, and we dressed those dolls and loved them for years.

Mom did not teach us the love of money, but rather the importance of integrity, commitment, and a love for God. It is my love for God that has inspired me to write In the Fullness of Time; it was my mother's love that equipped me to produce it.

“Mom, you were right, the reason the bumble bee can fly is because nobody ever told him he couldn’t.  The reason I can fly? ... YOU ARE THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS!"