(What is it to be a godly woman in an ungodly world? This question inspired me to invite some talented writers to contribute their responses. Litania Mawere is a gifted communicator both in spoken word and the word in song. This is a fascinating perspective on the question. Enjoy … For His Name’s Sake, Shalom, C. L. J. Dryden)
We had recently moved to a city near the Jordan valley, only by circumstance. My husband was staying with his Uncle, but things got a bit complicated to say the least. There were differences between how they managed their wealth, things escalated as a result they separated and headed to the middle east near the Jordan valley.
When we were living there, I despised the place. At first, I called it the lawless city. It was riddled with all sorts of wayward practices. Nevertheless, we stayed, we built up ways to grow our little family in the way of the Lord. We developed our family, or own little world, unbothered un-tarnished by what was surrounds us. We prayed for the sick, cared for the poor. I grew up my children in the way of the lord, after all it takes a little flicker of light to extinguish the darkness, so I made me my duty to teach my daughters be the light. There were days that were more difficult than others, but I persisted, to be the difference.
One evening, visitors came to the city, which was unusual. I was so thrilled but curious, as we hardly had foreigners travelling through the city. We greeted them and petitioned them to stay the night, they obliged. It caused an uproar in the city, men were partially surrounding the house, chanting obscene words, trying to break down the door. My husband went outside to negotiate with them. The visitors and I were disappointed with his negotiation skills. So, we pulled him in and bolted the door.
We did our best to apologise to our guests, but they were not bothered which startled me. They told us we needed to get out of this God-forsaken city. There was an outcry against this city and the Lord was going to destroy it. As you can imagine not quite the response, I was expecting.
Who are these people? I was in disbelief that God would send messengers to tell us to leave this city, we were just getting comfortable. I started to like where we lived. Finally something to call our own, somewhere we can make a difference, and now I must leave? I sat by the dining room table contemplating our options. My husband, on the other hand, was packing, as I sat there trying to make sense of what was said.
The next morning our visitors were even more insistent, “You must leave – you must leave now! Run for your lives and don’t look back!” They threw our belongings into bins liners to quicken the process.
We ran, we ran for our lives. We ran as far as we could, but deep down I felt grief – I felt sadness – I felt loss as if a part of me was left behind. I just wanted one last look for closure, just so that I could move on.
I died a death of unbelief.
As a godly woman in this evil world, if you abide by the Word of God, He may do something new, which can come in a way you least expect.
In my case it was leaving a city I was most familiar with; in others it may come in the form of a career change.
My encouragement for you today is – don’t look back.
(Photo by Helen Thomas on Unsplash)
Litania Mawere
Life With CD 