Women here endure so much. In this society, they are seen as the lowest of the low. They are unnoticed, unwanted, and unappreciated, yet they do so much and are so much in their families.
This week I spoke during nutrition, which is the main ministry we do in our slum with the women. On Tuesday evening, about 20+ women walked into the flat and sat down waiting to learn better nutrition and receive some nourishment from the milk we gave them. During this time, I spoke out of Proverbs 31 and encouraged them with the picture of the excellent wife. The Lord led me to tell them that like this woman their hard work is not done in vain, but that they are worth being praised for it. I also told them that though their children or husbands may not notice the work they do, my God does and in the midst of their troubles my God hears their cries. When I said this as they were drinking their milk, I noticed the look in some of the women’s eyes. Behind those eyes lay a lot of hurt and pain, where they saw themselves of not being worth much of anything. Where the only thing raised to them may have been a hand as their husbands beat them when they were less than satisfied with them or stumbling home drunk and take out their lack of real strength on their families. Not every woman in the slum goes through this, but as we were praying for so many of these women during house visits, we learned that so many do. We go into many of their homes and see the work of the women’s hands before us but see their men hide behind them in the darkness of their homes and depend on their wives to provide for them, whatever they want. The most heart wrenching story for me was actually from a woman here on the beach who has only been a new believer for a couple of months. She has a husband that won’t work, yet becomes angry with her when she doesn’t have good business. For months, though, her shop has been out because her roof has fallen in, so sometimes he will beat her. But she takes it all, endures it all and tries to stay strong for her family, and all I could think of as she was telling her story to us was the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman that I painted for the women in the slum. How this woman has clothed herself in strength and dignity and is so beautiful in how she fears the Lord. But when thinking about her and the rest of the women that have these troubles, they all have that same strength. They all have that same dignity and still it’s because of the Lord’s grace. The fact is that OUR GOD HEARS THEIR CRIES. Our God notices them and calls them out by name. Our God is able to answer their prayers and sees worth in them. Though they may not know Him yet, though they may not fully understand who He is, the Lord has and can use each of their circumstances to draw them close to Him and truly fill them with His strength that will be able to endure anything. I pray that these women may know of my God that can be theirs. I pray that they realize that our God sees worth in them and sees them as so much more. That they are truly clothed in much strength.
