The Young Slave Girl's Uncut Hair

A small, scared young girl chained with others on a muddy platform waits in shame for the auction to begin. As prices are shouted out, the auctioneer jeers on the crowd with lewd suggestions of how the new owner might get his money's worth out of such a purchase. She turns her face in shame and embarrassment as the price, although significantly higher than it started, is still much lower than any human being would like to claim as their value. Then, out of nowhere, a man shouts a price, one that is so extreme that all the bidding men could live for a year without the slaves they had come intent to purchase. The man has offered to pay for all the slaves, and the auctioneer readily agrees. The slaves are handed over to the man, and he instantly removes their chains.

"You are mine, now," he says. "You can now choose to serve me, or go back to the platform and the chains."

Some of the slaves are terrified of what trick such a powerful man might try to play. Others think that he must have some alternative motive. But the small young girl looks into his eyes and sees the love that has moved him to such an action.

"I will serve you, Master," she declares in a voice stronger than one might expect. "I'm not strong, and I'm not too bright, but my life is yours. I will do whatever you ask."

In the weeks and months to come, all the slaves who had decided to serve the generous man had learned the depths of his love and care reached far beyond purchasing slaves and removing their chains. He fed them from his own table, and gave them rooms that rivaled his for comfort. He educated them, and spent quality time getting to know them individually. He sought to find tasks that suited their strengths an interests.

One day, the master of the house approached that brave young girl who had declared her loyalty. He asked her if she would be willing to do something very difficult for him. Since she had been released of her chains, she had grown out her hair. It was long and flowing, and very beautiful. Her master asked her to cut it.

Tears flowed freely down the girl's face. She didn't understand. "I thought you loved me," she said. "Why would you require something so difficult of me if you love me?"

The master's eyes were also full of tears as he responded. "It is because I love you that I ask this of you." But the girl didn't understand. And so she refused to cut her hair.

The next day, as the girl walked along the road, her hair was caught in a branch. As she worked to untangle it, she remember the master's words. But, still, she thought, a few uncomfortable moments is worth the beauty of my long locks. And so she continued to let her hair grow long.

A few months later, the girl reached her point of greatest beauty. Many suitors came seeking her hand. Never having received such attention, the young girl was easily impressed by them all. Unsure what to do, she sought advice from her master.

"You are free to choose," he told her. "Only remember what I have taught you, and that if you marry a man outside of my house, it will complicate your life greatly."

The girl knew that her master would be desperately disappointed if she chose a man outside his home, but among the suitors one man stood out. He found her lovely and told her so often. He was most impressed with her hair, and told her of how he dreamed of the life they would share.

In the end, she chose to marry him even though he lived outside her master's home.

She tried for a time to continue to serve her master while living in the home of her husband, but it became more and more difficult. Her husband was a slave in the home of a cruel master who tried to make her do terrible things for him. He beat her when she failed to please him and never even took the time to learn her name.

One day, the girl, now a woman, realized she had not seen her own master in a year's time. When she had asked her husband if she might return to her rightful owner for the day, he had grown cold to her, so she had stayed away much longer than she could have imagined. She thought back to the day her master had asked her to cut her hair and cried as she remembered his words, "It is because I love you that I ask this of you."

She now understood. He had been wise enough to see what the beauty of her tresses would lead to. The sacrifice would have been small in light of the pain she had faced. She never would have known what it had spared her. Her weeping was great in light of her foolishness. "Oh, Master, what have I done?"

The story of this slave girl is the story of many of us. I have been like the slave girl, choosing to do things my own way instead of the way of my Master. However, sometimes, I do make the right choice, and never see what my small sacrifice has spared me from. Today, I was reminded that my Master always has the best for me. I hope this story helps us all to see that.

It will not likely be physical beauty that God asks you to sacrifice. In the same way, it may not be that an unequally yoked relationship is what it leads to. But remember, any choice that leads us against God is the wrong one.

As one of my favorite teachers told me, "The only right of a slave is obedience." And if Christ is my Master, I am, by all logic, His slave. And what an honor that is.

The Waters of Belen

An image comes to mind whenever I think of how God sees sin. I am taken back to about a year ago when I had my first taste of the jungle. Iquitos, Peru is a city located right on the Amazon river, and at the river's edge, there is an area of town known as Belen. (I remember finding this name ironic since it is the Spanish translation of Bethlehem.) Belen is home to the poorest of Iquitos' occupants. It is literally on the river with houses that float. The delta-like area rises and falls each season with the river bringing the houses up with it. The water is the street, yard, playground, and common area of the community. It is also the sewer. Belen's water is filthy. It stinks. It literally made me gag the first time I went out on a boat from the pier to a home where we held a children's program. When I thought about all that went on in the water, my heart went out to the children who happily swam and played in the filth.

I think that must be how God feels toward us when we indulge in sin. He knows how filthy it is and how bad it is for us, and He is saddened that we choose to remain in it. Unlike the children of Belen, we have a choice. God has saved us and brought us into His "Boat". We don't need to remain in the filth of sin we were born into. When we choose to swim in it after our eyes have been opened to it's filth, we are like fools who would put on their nicest clothing and dive into sewage.

I find myself thinking of this a lot lately as God has confronted me about some areas of sin in my life. I am going through Romans, and I am being awakened to sins I didn't realize I committed. If I remain in them, I sadden God, because He has so much better for me than the sewer I was pulled from.

Tachael's Movin' In

So it's been about a month since my last post, and a lot has changed in my life. I am currently residing in CA with my brother and his family. I find myself looking for a job even as I am acting as nanny by choice. I am really enjoying it, even though it still feels like a vacation. It is like that whenever I move. It seems surreal for awhile, as if I may wake up the next morning and return to my previous home or way of life.

It is too early to miss anything of AZ yet, but I still miss Peru, and I know I will miss the rest of my family and my church soon. I am praying to get plugged in here soon, and discover why God has called me out here. I am sure He has something for me. He is so faithful and always comes through for me, often in ways I could never have planned or imagined.

I am already learning a lot about my niece and nephew. It is different when you live with children than when you visit them or they visit you. When you live with them, you have to set clear boundaries and expectations. You have to step back and let their parents be in charge without letting them think they can get away with murder when you are in charge. It's a fine line to walk, and I am praying to keep my balance so that I am not caught off guard by the 2- and 5-year-old who knock on my door at all times of day and night.

I love them so much, and I enjoy them more than I could say, so I am praying that we can find a way to live at peace without them being spoiled. :)