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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PIECE / PEACE (02/16/23)
This chapter of Oroma Grace fits between earlier Writing Challenges:
Oroma Grace–Part 2 and 3.

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I hoped this email would not offend.

Grace, I just heard from our sister church in Uganda that they think you are married. Is there a piece of your story that I've missed?

We had such a comfortable relationship after six months of email correspondence. But Grace knocked the wind out of me with a long complicated response that contained this sentence:

. . . So, last year I got a baby for him, that's when I thought the world was coming to an end.

A baby? Grace got a baby for him! For a Kenyan truck driver who was kind to her when he saw she was hungry and had no money?

Taking a deep breath, I continued reading but my mind was whirling.

. . . When I realised I was pregnant, the only thing I thought of was abortion because I didn't have anything to eat. How would I take care of the baby? But then I said to myself, why should I deny a chance for a person to live. God doesn't allow us to do so. I was saying to myself, that I'm a Christian, I know I've made mistake . . .
. . . Please kindly forgive me, I am so sorry mum. I still need you in my life, I still need you to help me, as a mom. I'm happy that finally I have shared this with you. Thank you Jesus. I'm grateful amidst all this.
Love from your daughter, Oroma Grace

I knew I needed to answer quickly. I heard her fear, her hope, and her relief in finally telling her secret. Her heart must have been pounding as hard as mine, waiting to see if I would forgive her.

Dear, dear Grace,
It must be hard to tell me details of your life that you have kept secret from me. But secrets are toxic, part of the kingdom of darkness. The only cure is confession, bringing the truth into the light. The facts always are discovered sooner or later. What we cover up, God will uncover! But praise be to God—what we uncover, He covers with His forgiveness and righteousness!
I love you Grace. Jesus loves you. Nothing can ever change that.
Linda

Our next emails were full of blunt questions and transparent answers—another chapter for another time. This chapter is about regaining trust and my reluctance toward being identified as more than Grace’s former sponsor of school fees—to becoming her mentor/mother. She eagerly called me Mummy but I feared her claim of a larger piece of me. Especially when she referred to my children as her brother and sister. But how could I not mother her when I discovered she was an unwed mother?

Oh my dear Grace, there is much we need to talk about! I’m very uncomfortable talking about sex, but since I am your only mom, I need to do this before there are MORE babies.

Sex is designed to celebrate God’s gift of love for each other in a relationship based upon promises of faithfulness. Sex is like a river. When it is contained within its boundaries it nurtures life, but when it flows outside of its God-designed boundaries it can be very destructive.

Without a faithful marriage covenant, sex leads to disease, heartache, disappointment, and children that suffer from not having two loving parents who can care for them.

I hope and pray that you will feel my love for you as I firmly tell you what you must and must not do. God, our Father, was very firm when He said, Thou shall not . . . So, I must be firm also as I point you to follow Jesus and His good plans for you.
Jesus and I love you.
Mummy Linda

Dear Mummy, I was very happy when I saw this email. If only I had known before, then I would have been in a much better place now. I'm still ready and willing to make up for mistake, if only I would be given another chance. Now that you are there for me, I feel blessed.

This new piece of Grace’s story was a shock to me, but it stirred me to pity—just like my sin stirs God to open His arms to me with gracious compassion.

God uncovered another hidden truth: My soul can be at peace about giving orphaned Grace a piece of my heart. We are both loved, forgiven, and adopted daughters of our Heavenly Father.
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This article has been read 367 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Laurie Kiel 
02/23/23
Such a great message here. This is a wonderful example of how we are to follow the example of Jesus, sharing God’s forgiveness but calling the sinner to give up the sin and its destructiveness. I love the analogy if the river. I also liked yiur phrase “ but I feared her claim of a larger piece of me. ” That is so true . Great job.
Barbara Culler 
02/24/23
Just wow. What an amazing story! Good job on using the topic words.
Jennifer Percell
03/02/23
Lovely story of God's grace and ours for each other. We are all sinners but we need to love each other enough to work on that sin openly and honestly. The emails written to her in this story are very well spoken descriptions of godly living and loving. Well done.