Sarah (Part 1)

Hello, my name is Sarah, that’s strange I’m getting used to my new name. I was named Sarai at birth then one day my husband Abram – well, he is now Abraham – said his God changed our names. He said his God has got big plans for us.

Anyway, the days have always started the same, I make sure that everything needed for the family meals are available and ready, instruct the maidservants of their duties for the day and ensure it all runs smoothly. The evening meals are more like feasts, where we all get together including workmen and their families to eat. This meal is normally the highlight of the day with a lot of laughter and chatter, and the aroma of delicious food fills the air. It is exuberant and entertaining, and the meals normally include varied spiced meats, fresh fruits – pomegranates, dates, grapes – bread, olives, vegetables, and a lot of wine to mention a few.

I make most of the decisions on the evening meals and occasionally I ask Abraham if he fancies anything special which is added to the list of meals for the day. Abraham is easy-going when it comes to food, as soon as the food is tasty, he is a satisfied man, and he is my special man.

Growing up, my father and his fathers worshiped gods that they could see, they were made out of wood, metal or stones. I’ve also heard that some worship natural objects like the moon, sun, stars, and so on. They say these gods demand the best of their livestock for sacrifice and sometimes they even demand human lives, but ladies aren’t allowed to talk about these things.

However, with Abraham it’s different. He believes in a different God. He hasn’t seen this God and he can’t describe Him physically. But somehow Abraham has conversations with Him and the way Abraham talks about Him, it feels very real and scary. This God of his is one of the reasons we are out here in a foreign land.

Many years ago, this God told Abraham to leave his family and friends for a land that He will show him, and Abraham did it. I can’t say I understand or even say we have reached the land per se. But I can say that his God has blessed him greatly since leaving his family. Abraham is rich in livestock, silver and gold. He also has a huge workforce of men and women as well as trained fighters. Everyone around here looks up to him and he is highly respected everywhere we go.

I know Abraham loves me and the feeling is mutual, we’ve been married a long time, but we don’t have any children. What I don’t understand is how his God can make him so rich and powerful but not give him a child. Who is going to inherit everything Abraham owns?

I laugh – and this is not a happy laugh – when Abraham says God said he will have a son and his descendants will be countless like the stars—that’s a joke! The one thing I couldn’t understand was Abraham looking to me to bear a son for him. Can’t he see that I’m too old? Again, he said his God said his heir is going to be our child.

One night, after a long discussion with Abraham, I convinced him to do something I will regret for the rest of my life.

(To be continued).

Happy New Year! Stay blessed,

Lara