The Hug

“The Lord’s love is sweet.” This is what my friend and translator shared as I hugged this woman one day during a home visit. You see, she was crying and whispering the same phrase over and over in my ear and hugging me so tight, so I just had to know what she was saying. When he shared this phrase, I cried my own tears too, hugged her back, aware of the give and take that comes from such a moment.

A few hours before this exchange, I was on my way via motorcycle to a series of home visits with those who just need extra encouragement and support. Everywhere I have been in the earth, I have found myself on the backs of motorcycles. It is as common to me as riding in a car anymore, and it is the easiest and cheapest way to get from point A to point B. On this day, we rode through the villages on tire wide strips of sand into the mountains and I was soaking in all the sights and trying not to fly off the back of my friends bike, but all the while my heart was eagerly looking ahead at what the Lord would accomplish in these visits.

Nothing compares with being invited into someone’s home no matter where I am in the world. It is beyond humbling, and one of the most incredible feelings. When we walked into the home, I was immediately impressed with the creativity and cleanliness of the dwelling. Shoes off, heart open, I did as I was instructed and sat on the bed which serves as the couch during the day. The walls were covered in what used to be rice bags, neatly taped together to form a wallpaper of sorts, but also to serve as a barrier to the outside elements. The wind blew through the open door and it felt as if heaven itself welcomed us. The host offered us large cups of Mountain Dew, the most common drink I have found in the homes of Nepal, and we began an afternoon of fellowship.

Then she walked in, and sat on a stool by the door, while the wind draped the curtain around her like a shroud. She immediately had my heart the moment I saw her and I began to pray about any way the Lord would have me encourage her. There was also a gentleman who is hard of hearing, and quite tormented by the devil, (according to him), who not only needs healing in his body, but deeply desires his Hindu wife to come to know the Jesus he loves. She offered the common “namaste” but stayed away from us as we proceeded to pray and worship God together.

When the time came for us to hear from each one about how we can love and support them right now, the woman at the door began to open up. I could tell from the occasional tears that escaped her eyes, that much of what she shared was painful. When it came time for the translation, I learned that she had been married at age 8. No, that is not a typo, and it is somewhat common in Nepal, especially in the villages. In and of itself, this marriage was unthinkably painful, but when her husband left her when she was 12 years old, just five years later, her life seemed over.

To be abandoned as a woman in Nepal is a fate worse than death without the direct intervention of the Lord. Woman are considered the weaker class, subordinate, and completely reliant on men to survive, but she wasn’t just a woman, she was a very young girl, with no hopes of education, or a means to support herself whatsoever. She is now in her 70’s and has never been remarried. This is mostly due to the Hindu and Buddhist belief that her husband left her which means she deserved it, either in this life or from a previous life and/or it was meant to be. Hope is not to be found, mercy is absent.

When the Lord awakened her to Himself, she was then further outcasted by her Hindu family and friends who saw this as direct rebellion and cause for ex-communication. I cannot imagine the pain she has endured in her life. Thankfully, some of the members of her family have since been awakened as well, and she is prayerful that they all will one day know Jesus. In fact, she has many dreams in her heart, and I am cheering her on all the way!

“The Lord’s love is sweet.” Indeed it is. As I shared with her a tiny portion of my own story, and the way the Lord used Isaiah 54 to heal me, a strength seemed to envelope her, and she asked again where this beautiful promise was to be found. Thankfully, she has a Nepali bible, and immediately found this passage and proceeded to read it out loud. She was visibly encouraged, and hungry to know this God who would speak so personally to her about the matters of her life.

Now you can understand that when she cried these words “the Lord’s love is sweet” in my ear, over and over, the Lord was doing a work that only He can do, healing of the pains of her past in a fresh way, so that she could look ahead with the hope that is Christ in us, the hope of Glory. She was able to receive from her Father personally, to breath deep of His nearness, to drink in the goodness of God like the wine from the first wedding, and He was there, just like He promises, to answer, “daughter be healed”. This promise poured fresh into my heart as well, He makes all things beautiful in their time.

There is so much in God’s heart for the girls and women of Nepal, I hope you will join me in praying for this culture and this country. No matter what, knowing we are seen and loved is the message the whole world needs to hear, and I for one, will never tire of making that known.

Grace and peace to all of my Brave family everywhere.