Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: MARRIAGE (08/25/16)
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TITLE: The Gift | Previous Challenge Entry
By Sherry Hoffcastel
08/29/16 -
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“Hannah, would you prepare the lentils for supper, please? I would do it myself but as you can see, I nurse my child. I cannot seem to supply enough milk for his growing appetite!” Penninah squeezes our son’s backside as he greedily sucks. A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I would suggest that you hurry. My children are hungry and we must rise early in the morning.”
My love takes a deep breath and purses her lips into a thin, straight line. She quietly retreats, heavy footsteps kicking up clouds of red earth. She serves the food and retires to our tent in silence. “She will not eat?” I ask.
Penninah shrugs. “Hannah is probably just exhausted from caring for my children. There are so many after all.”
I startle and clear my throat. “Must you shout, wife? My ears are perfectly functional.”
I hear a thump from our tent and the sound of breaking pottery. The poor girl is growing increasingly clumsy lately. After the meal I retire to our bed and find her weeping again. “Why do you cry, love and why will you not eat? Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?” She turns her face to the wall and does not respond to my tender caresses. As her husband it is my duty to see that she is content but lately it matters not what I say. She remains inconsolable. I cradle her in my arms, waiting for light to break, praying to the Lord once again that my sweet wife will awaken with life growing inside her. I wait…
“I made a vow.” She chews her food slowly, savoring every bite. I am delighted to see my Hannah taking nourishment again.
“Did you now? What was your promise?” I stare at her long hair glistening in the sun and for a brief moment I am blinded by her beauty. She is stunning.
“I promised the Lord that if He gave me a son I would return him to the Lord. I would see to it that no razor ever touches his head. He will learn the ways of God and be completely devoted to no other but the Lord God. Eli the prophet has given me his blessing. I believe the Lord has heard my vow. I am going to be a mother.”
At this her lips curl into the biggest smile I have ever seen. Her eyes glimmer like the stars that fill the night sky. This meeting with Eli has surely changed her. Suddenly I am overcome with love for this woman. “Well then I suggest we get started, wife.” I lift her into my arms and carry her into our future…
The air is alive with her praises! Her sweet voice floats along the breeze like the brush of a thousand insect wings. Samuel tilts his face to the sun and laughs, falling in a dizzy heap on the dew covered earth. I could watch and listen for hours.
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord.
I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation.
No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you,
Nor is there any rock like our God!”
My God works in ways I will never fully understand. Hannah has smiled more today than she has in years. When she speaks all trace of bitterness is gone; her voice soft as our first day as man and wife. Even Penninah’s sharp tongue does not have the effect it once had. My wives treat each other as equals and finally there is peace in my home. Hannah takes my hand and together we dance, rejoicing in the favor of our God. Samuel is the greatest blessing to have befallen my marriage. He was not only a gift to Hannah; he was a gift to us all.
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