Promises Belong to You
Day 50 - December 1, 2021
"For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true childrenp of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you."
—Galatians 3:26-29
After endless tears, a broken heart, discouragement, and frustration God answered the longing of my heart today in an overwhelming way. Today I was able to meet 3 women face to face and hear their life stories before taking their portraits.
I am going to introduce you to them over the next few days. Hearing all of their stories at once is overwhelming so we will take this slowly. There are some cultural things that I will try to explain, but if you are confused by anything please send me a message and I will be happy to help explain more in depth.
from wife to widow
Bhubevi
Bhubevi was named after a Hindu goddess of the earth. At the age most children begin middle school she married her cousin. (I explain this cultural practice in an earlier blog). She and her husband were invited to live in the city where her husband began working at a hospital. After 8 months of work he was let go from his job but she begged the job office to place him somewhere else. He was given a job at a government hospital which provided well and came with benefits.
During this time they had 5 sons and 3 daughters. Then her husband brought another wife into their home and the problems began. The new wife had 5 children and the husband would care for these children before caring for his first 8 children. He was an alcoholic and he even went so far as to beat Bhubevi's children. Some of the older would work during the day and he would take their money to buy his alcohol. It was a very difficult situation.
One day he began to beat the people in his home and they all scattered and fled the house. When they went back home they found that he had committed suicide. Due to his government job he had benefits and even a job for his wife in the event of his death. Unfortunately, for Bhubevi and her children he had listed his second wife as the reciprocate of the job and all the benefits. Bhubevi and her children were given nothing. To make matters worse, they lived on government property and the government made a decision to close the area where they were living. This left their family with no money, no provisions, and no shelter. They were now homeless beggars.
After having to leave their home, they roamed around the city living in huts and slums. Then one day she received a vision about a man with His hands stretching towards her. She spoke with her neighbor about what the vision meant and the neighbor introduced her to Jesus Christ. They went to church together and after some time Bhubevi accepted the Lord as her Savior. She then told her family about who God was. Her acceptance of Christ did not change her situation but it did change her heart. She still lives in the slums and cares for a son who has serious mental challenges, but her face displays joy and her eyes sparkle because she has hope. Her hope is in an eternity where there is no pain, no death, no superstition, no heartache, and no loneliness.
