This month I was given the focus of doing widow interviews with the Mayan women. My sole purpose in desiring to do this was to let them know they are NOT forgotten! I explained to our host, prior to receiving this assignment, that God had been growing this passion in my heart for a while now, and I realized it more when he talked to us about Mayan widows being at the bottom of the social totem pole. I shared with our host my experience living with my great-grandmother for a few months after my great-grandpa passed and how that influenced my desire to know the older generation more.
My Granny is a great woman of God, whom I admire so much. During the months I lived with her when I was 20, I loved listening to her stories. I remember sitting with her in the kitchen or at the foot of her bed when I would get home from work or hanging out with my cousins, and just sharing about our days and also hearing about when she was young and how her and my Papa Slue met and were married. That was such a precious time in my life and my passion and desire for knowing the lives and the stories of my great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and the generations that have gone before me grew! Everyone loves stories, and everyone has a story to tell. In Guatemala, though, it seems that the stories of the Mayan widows are unimportant, but these women need to know that it’s not true! They’re stories and most importantly they themselves matter.
During my quiet time one Thursday morning, I was taking a minute to see if there were any good posts from the churches and women’s programs I follow on Instagram. I know it sounds silly but a post from The Grove at Passion City Church popped up and stood out to me. It prompted followers to read the story of Hagar in Genesis 16, which fell in line with a study they appeared to be doing on the names of God. I went to Genesis 16 and began to read the story of Hagar, and how God send the angel of the Lord to FIND her, because He had HEARD her in her misery. This blew my mind! God HEARD Hagar in her misery after Sarai treated her terribly, and then He sent the angel of the Lord to find her. Now after the Lord came to Hagar and blessed her, she named Him (yep, that’s right, Hagar gave God a new name) “El Roi” which mean “the God who sees me”, because He saw her in her time of need, and He did not forget her. After I finished reading I looked up and saw one red rose in the greenery at our house, and I saw it as a sign from God that we are each that single red rose. We stand out to Him.
Later that morning we went to do home visits with some of the widows. The second home we went to was the home of Macaria. Macaria had a beautiful home with doves that she appeared to be caring for, and when we sat down I ended up in the seat closest to her. Macaria shared that her husband started the first church in Xenacoj. She thanked our teams for coming to visit her, and later she explained that she didn’t understand why we would come just to visit her. Tears began to stream down her wrinkled cheeks, as she explained that although she didn’t understand she was thankful that God had sent us to her. She had shared early that God always provides for her when she is in need whether it’s through her needs showing up on her doorstep or God sending people to provide them to her. She continued to cry as she shared her thanks for God sending us, so I placed my hand on her shoulder, and felt the Lord pressing it upon my heart to share with her what He had shown me that morning. I asked Sam if he would be able to translate for me, and shared with Macaria, the story of the Lord finding Hagar in her misery, and the name Hagar had given God. I told her that Hagar gave God the name “the God who sees me”, and that He sees her and does not forget her! She began to cry and I held her hand, and then we prayed over her. I hugged her probably 2 or 3 times, before we left that day. It was so beautiful to see God work. As we were leaving Macaria’s house I just became overwhelmed with the empathy I had felt as we listened to Macaria share with us. I began to bawl as I felt the forgottenness, loneliness, and brokenness Macaria had been feeling. Honestly, I was not all about that crying business, but I was so thankful to be used as a vessel to speak truth into Macaria’s life. God sees her and He does not forget her, and this rings true for each of His children.
