Women of the Bible

Just finished a series of fictional books by Francine Rivers about the women in the linage of Christ.  Starting with Tamar than Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and finally Mary.  What was most interesting to me is the humanizing of those special women.  When I read their Bible accounts sometimes I don't think about all that they went through or how they might have felt or what other people may have thought. 
One book in particular made me really think.  That was the book about Mary.  I guess when I have read the Bible account before I have thought that she was such a "perfect" girl. Reading this book made me realize even though she was very godly, she was not perfect.  In the book she made mistakes.  She was a human just like me.  However, she purposed to become close to God and therefore she was chosen to be the mother of the Savior.  How she must have felt.  The ridicule from family and friends when she found she was pregnant.  Or how her family responded when Jesus started his public ministry.  Did her family follow, or were they like so many that rejected him?
How would I have responded to the calling that each of these women faced.  Would I have been brave enough to cast a red scarf from my window.  Would I have been strong enough to face the ridicule and the shame after the great sin that Bathsheba committed with David. Would I have repented and taught my son how to be a godly king?  Would I have been bold like Tamar? Or would I have been as obedient as Ruth?
During this study I have realized there is much to learn from these women.  I plan to learn more.