The Strategy that Worked

I have heard the story many times. I have read it myself a couple of times, but I have never thought of this until recently. Though, the atmosphere was new as he was just arriving in this village, he immediately fell in love with this beautiful damsel but like all love stories, there was a price or better still prices to be paid to get the love of his life.

He recognized this line that price (s) are attached to every endeavour in human life, so the young man told his potential father in-law that he would work for him  for 2,555 days and at the end would expect him to pay by given him his daughter’s hand in marriage. Both parties signed and the contract was sealed. After the 2,555 days as expected, humans are liable to disappoint, rather than give him the daughter agreed on, he gave him her elder sister which was not mentioned in the agreement. To summarize the story, he had to serve for extra days all over to get the love of his life. So, destiny gave him two wives from the same father which he never prepared for. Then unfold another new story.

This new story in the old one is not new but new because relative to the old one to an extent has never been told, so that is what makes it new. The deal that went sore was fixed because this man had to work for another extra 2,555days but it generated another situation for someone who had never wished to be part of the problem. The first wife who had been unprepared for, battled a lifelong problem, she was faced with a day to day hatred from the man who was supposed to love her, the man who was her husband.

As she struggled with the present situation, one day, she made up her mind to do whatever it takes to make the man she was married to love her in return. She would wake up early to give him food, respected him, eulogise him when he was angry, adore him all the time, but it did not work rather, the hatred her husband had for her grew beyond measure. Then she looked inward and asked herself an important question on what her sister did not have that she can provide to cushion the effect of the hatred she faced on a daily basis; what searched for what would make her have an edge over her rival. Sooner than later she gave birth to a baby boy and named him love because she believed her husband would now loved her for given him a boy, but the hatred did not change levels. She gave birth to another bouncing baby boy while her rival has no child of her own. So she decided to name him affection because of the same reason. But no, there was no change in the degree of hatred she faced. She gave birth again, as usual, a boy and said this time my husband would be forced to be attached to me because of her three sons, so she named him unity. Like love and affection, Unity neither helped to alleviate nor reduce the problem.

She was tired in her trial, but she did not lose hope and gave birth to yet another one. This time her strategy changed. She told herself. Love did not do it, Affection failed, likewise Unity, but one thing is certain. The lord God is worthy to be praised and she named her fourth child Praise.

When everything fails, try praises. Somebody said praising God or not does not change the status of God. God will always be God in all situations but praising him can draw his attention towards us, putting us in his favour.  The psalmist said in all things praise him. When the situation seems to remain the same, God is already working out a solution and the situation will not remain the same.