HEALING BALM
“I WILL HEAL THEIR WAYWARDNESS and love them freely.” Hosea 14:4
“Little daughter,” the Old Woman remarked one afternoon, “in the past weeks, you have told me about your friend Mee-Kyong. You have told me about the tragic events that led to your detainment here. You have told me about your mother and about the way she lost hope so many years ago. But you have not told me anything about your father. Why do you think this is?”
I sighed. In the refuge of the Old Woman’s cell, I found a rest my spirit never knew before. The Old Woman taught me hymns, the songs that my Mother refused to let me hear for fear that I would end up in a place like this. I listened for hours as the Old Woman voiced her prayers of praise and thanksgiving to the God whom I forsook so long ago.
I never
