BLINDED BY GOD | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: BLINDED BY GOD | Previous Challenge Entry
By Pat Small
04/29/15
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BLINDED BY GOD

Maria had been at the river all day. She was a wash lady (laundress) in Brazil. Her
customers loved the way she got the whites so bright, and there was not a spot of dirt or grime
left on the children’s play clothes when she returned them to the owners. But doing laundry in
the river under the scorching tropical sun, spreading it out on the grass to bleach, and drying it
on the bushes was exhausting work. That’s why she had stretched out on her straw mattress
for a few minutes before preparing supper for her large family.
Her eyes were closed and her aching muscles were beginning to relax when she heard
her husband Carlos enter the room by the narrow door. She didn’t open her eyes. He probably
wanted help with some chore, she thought, so she pretended to be asleep. However,
when she heard no sound or movement, she peeked beneath one eyelid. His arm was
raised above his head, the machete he grasped glinting in the light from the small window. Her
heart hammered a staccato rhythm in her chest. She had no idea what could have brought
on such anger. What should she do? Instinctively, she remained motionless.
Since Maria had recently put her faith in Christ, in her heart she uttered an
urgent plea to God for help. No words were spoken aloud, not by her and not by Carlos. In a
few seconds, which seemed like hours, he brought the knife down to his side, turned on his
heel and left the room. The God the missionaries had told her about had certainly been
with her, she thought, protecting her as surely as if she had been surrounded by high brick
walls with a moat around them. One more prayer, this time of thanksgiving, flew upward.
Later, when Carlos seemed to have returned to his normal placid disposition, Maria
questioned him. She discovered that his mother had confided that when Maria said she was
going to church, she was really going to meet another man. In Brazil’s macho culture, Carlos
could not accept her betrayal , so he had decided to kill her. But he told her: “All of a sudden, I
became blind. Everything went pitch black. I couldn’t see the bed, you, or anything else.” His
feet had sprouted wings as he hurried out of the room.
Maria explained how she had prayed silently, and that must have been when God
drew the curtain of darkness over Carlos’s eyes. He contemplated her testimony, and
decided that was the kind of God he needed. He prayed with the missionaries the next
time they visited the family.
Truly the the Lord is a refuge, a fortress, a stronghold! His hand is mighty to save,
whether the threat is physical or spiritual!

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