Today I went to visit a young woman who has been put in the
category of “unwed mother” for the rest of her life. In a moment of weakness,
she had an affair with a man she had passionately loved for 9 years. When he
found out she was pregnant, he took off and never saw her again until the baby
was 8 months old when he came to give her his name legally. What I encountered
when I walked into this girl’s tiny room was quite shocking. All of her earthly
possessions were piled in one corner and one small cupboard. One single light
bulb hung on the wall, no light in the “bathroom”, if you can call it that; a
bare sink on the wall and a seatless toilet with no water. She pours bottles of
water in to flush it. She is a beautiful girl with a winsome personality and it
is painful to think that she will never get married or be loved by a man again.
She showed us pictures of her before she got pregnant; dashing young woman with
fancy dresses and make-up. There were pictures of her in the arms of her lover.
Now she sits alone in her tiny room with only her TV for companionship and has nothing
but dreams & photos of that life not-so-long-ago. Her mother and sister are the only ones that
know about the baby but have nothing to do with her. When she goes to visit
them, she must leave the baby behind. No one else in the family knows about
this dark secret. It would bring such shame on the entire family that they’d
likely have to kill her. In spite of
this awful existence, the girl kept saying over and over that she praised God
for her own place where she could raise her baby. She has a daily job taking
care of an invalid woman and takes her baby to a neighbor lady who watches her
while she’s at work for a mere $35 a month. With no frig or fan of any kind and
the intense summer months coming, she is already wondering how she will
survive. Today she asked lots of questions about how it was possible for someone
in this country to change their religion. (the friend I went with told her she
had left her families’ faith and embraced Christ) She wants to come to church
sometime and see what it’s all about.
Lately, I've been complaining to my husband that I want a
new dining room table. The one I have now is wobbly and home-made. But it’s a
table and it seats lots of people and I need to realize how fortunate I am to
have all the wonderful things that I do! Today’s visit put everything into
perspective for me and my dining table suddenly seems to be just fine. I am
blessed beyond measure!
