My Day Of Freedom. | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: My Day Of Freedom. | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gloria Pierre Dean
06/11/22
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Juliette was born into servitude and as a child, she knew nothing else. Her parents were also in service; her mother was a maid and her father worked on a farm in Yorkshire near their small cottage. Sadly, her parents rarely saw each other.

Juliette was different from her parents though, she had learned to read and write at a small local night school that was run for servants like her, and sponsored by her master Mr Gill. He realised things were changing. Queen Victoria was causing a lot of shake-ups in the empire.

In her spare time, she used to sew. No one taught her, she just figured it out from a book. She did for her fellow workers and as she grew older her skills increased. She used to observe the dresses she ironed and washed, noting the way they were put together. In her alone time, she used scraps and throwaways to remake things too. Her fellow maids found her skills very useful and eventually the news spread to theMrs Gill, her mistress. She was assigned the role of 'dresser'; she looked after her mistress’ clothes. On many occasions, she had to alter very important outfits for her.
However, she missed her friends. In her spare time, she would read the Bible and they all went to church on some Sundays.

Juliette had a desire to work for herself as a dressmaker and designer; this dream began to plague her mind. It would mean the end of a lifetime of servitude like her parents.

A visiting friend of the family noticed Juliette’s skill set and made an unusual request to Mrs Gill,
“Can you release Juliette for two days a week to help me run my women’s store?”

They agreed and Juliette began her new career.
Her parents were very pleased. At last, they thought, one of us is stepping away. She excelled in the dress shop and even designed clothes for girls. She was paid, so at last, she had enough money to save and she helped her ageing mother to retire.

Juliette’s favourite verse was 'The Lord is my helper’.{Hebrews 13:6} and she read the Psalms a lot. They encouraged her.

In her late thirties, Juliette decided to move back to the family home and start a small business in her home town. This way she could help her parents and be with family...She would have to leave her old life, and friends and give up her jobs at the Gills house, and the dress shop, so she did.’

‘Today is my day of freedom’ she said to herself as she walked out of that great door..

Back home in Yorkshire, she did not give up her faith and continued to attend church. Her business started slowly. Some of her customers were churchgoers. The old shed was thankfully in good condition so she and her parents fixed it up. They put up a sign - Juliette’s Dress Shop’.

It was hard work and her mother helped. Years later, in her fifties, she reflected on what they had done together. She continued to thank God and follow Christ. Her favourite statement was ‘the end of servitude did not mean the end of work’. Most importantly, she was now married to an old childhood friend, Charles and was also teaching other young women to sew. .

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