Faridah's Story
October 1989, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God
as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and they hid from God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden,
and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
--Genesis 3:8-10
A friend of mine gave me a Bible when he saw my suffering: broken relationships...threat
of bankruptcy...two violent robberies...near-fatal car crash...and now betrayal by the
person whom I loved more than God. He said, "Read the Bible; all your answers are in the
Bible."
I was afraid to read it because I was a Muslim. But that evening I couldn’t focus
on my prayers. I snatched up the Bible, "If there is a God, speak to me now." I opened it
and my eyes fell on these words,
"My children, plead with your mother.
Plead with her to stop her adulterous ways..."
(Hosea 2:2)
I was terrified. Although I was married, I was the second wife. Though legal under Islamic
law, I realized the anguish I had inflicted on my husband’s first family and to myself, for
I truly believed in the sacredness of marriage. Here was my secret shame now proclaimed.
As I read on, my terror increased,
"I will strip her naked as the day she was born."
"I will make her like a dry and barren land...she will die of thirst."
"I will show no mercy to her children..."
"No one will be able to save her from my power..."
"I will turn her vineyards and orchards into a wilderness;
wild animals will destroy them."
(Hosea 2:3-13)
I wanted to hide, but there was no where to hide. My tears now poured like rain, but I would
not stop reading, searching, for something to lift me out of the pit. Then I came to these
words,
"...I will take her into the desert again;
there I will win her back with words of love...
and make Trouble Valley a door of hope."
(Hosea 2:14-15)
"Love." "Hope." Forgiveness. Redemption. All that I had yearned for since childhood.
Oh joy! Oh balm to gaping wound. I held the Bible close to my chest. I received the
Word and was received in return. I read on:
"...I will make you my wife;
I will be true and faithful;
I will show you constant love and mercy and make you mine forever."
"I will show love to those who were called ‘Unloved,’
and to those who were called ‘Not My People’ I will say, ‘You are my people,’
and they will answer, 'You are our God.’"
(Hosea 2:19, 23)
My soul rested at peace. I had come home at last.
-- Faridah
Faridah now lives in the United States. God answered her prayers to take her to a
country where she and her daughter could worship Him openly.
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