Mark, Jennifer, Amy and Judy standing on top of Mt. Longonot, Kenya August 1985

When Mark and I lived in Kenya, I traveled from time to time into the rural areas to teach at women’s conferences. This particular trip took me into Kikuyu country where the women still wore head coverings and dresses to their ankles and carried their babies on their backs wrapped in “kangas” (and occasionally little toddlers clinging to their skirts). There were over 1200 women (and lots of babies) at this conference but the church could only accommodate five or six hundred. I don’t know how they did it, but they somehow managed to cram themselves into the church for services that lasted for hours. They love to worship and the sound of their Kikuyu songs and the beating of the drums and homemade cymbals was deafening. The ladies slept outside on the church grounds on blankets under trees but to make a difficult situation even more impossible, that weekend there was a terrible deluge and non-stop rain turned the church grounds into a huge mud puddle. It was a wood frame building with a tin roof and mud was at least ankle deep. The rain pounded so hard during my sessions that I couldn’t hear myself screaming at the top of my voice using a portable PA system that was hooked up to the generator I brought with me. Amazingly, the ladies never complained, even when they had to wait over 2 hours in line to get their little bowl of rice and vegetables at every mealtime.

This particular church was quite a distance from Nairobi and a Kenyan lady of the Kikuyu tribe traveled with me to lead the way and be my interpreter. After teaching a number of sessions on the subject of The Power of Agape Love to Transform Any Marriage, my traveling companion shared a testimony with me about her aunt, whom she said was a perfect example of how this principle worked in her life. For the purpose of this article, we shall call her aunt, Wambui.

Wambui, a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, was married to a believing husband and they both lived happily for many years. The Lord blessed them with three boys and four girls. But as the years went by, the husband, whom we will call Kamau, fell away from the Lord and started mistreating Wambui. He even stopped taking care of his family financially. However, Wambui continued to treat him with kindness and respect, regardless of his behavior.

When their eldest son completed his Kenya Certificate of Education, he opted not to proceed with his studies. Instead, he got a job so he could assist his mother in paying school fees for his younger siblings. The Lord blessed him at his place of employment and openings were made for him for further training on the job. In fact, all of his siblings completed their formal education as God enabled each one.

Later, the father left their home, married their house girl, and had several children with his second wife. However, Wambui being a woman of prayer, maintained a very intimate relationship with God throughout her life and taught and encouraged her children to depend on God and honor their father regardless of his defiant attitude.

However, life in Kamau’s new home progressively got worse and poverty and sickness seemed to follow him wherever he went. When the first-born of his second wife sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, he qualified to join secondary school. At the time, Kamau was financially destitute and unable to pay school fees for his son and approached Wambui’s children for help. Wambui reminded her children that Kamau was still their father, therefore any assistance to him would be appropriate and that God would bless them for their kindness and generosity. Wambui’s children, who at the time were all married and working, chose to assist their father in meeting all the school expenses of the son of his second wife. Unfortunately, while in his second year of high school, the boy met with an untimely death while traveling home for his school holidays.

It is interesting to note that whenever Kamau became ill or had financial needs, he always turned to Wambui’s children, in spite of the fact that he abandoned the entire family and was not providing for them in any way. Surprisingly, Wambui continued to encourage her children to know and appreciate their father as the Word of God requires (Ephesians 6:1).

The hand of God has continually been upon Wambui and her children and they never lacked their basic needs. God took care of them and even provided enough to enable them to assist their father and his other family. Wambui learned how to live and remain steadfast under the umbrella of God’s love and also maintain a sweet and gentle spirit, which is of great value in the sight of God. She continually was a source of strength and inspiration to her entire family and as a result, her children are all serving the Lord and living successful lives.

What is the price for loving your mate with God’s unconditional love? When life was not fair and marriage became a disappointment, Wambui stayed faithful to God’s Word. Under the shelter of God’s “Law of Love”, she found peace and fulfillment in spite of her difficult circumstances in life and continued to use her influence in a godly way to raise her children to be free from bitterness and hatred for their father. Bitterness, regardless of how justified it may be, not only destroys the person who is bitter, but anyone whose life is influenced by that person. By teaching her children to obey God’s Word and honor their father, she gave them a priceless gift that will impact generations to come in their family.

God remained faithful and provided Wambui and her family with every need over the years. Because of God’s blessing upon her life, everything Wambui set her hand to do prospered, and she and her children have been truly blessed. What a powerful testimony for demonstrating agape love and the power of a woman’s godly influence.

However, that’s not the end of the story. Every believer will one day stand before the Lord at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ and give account for their lives. According to 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, Paul encourages believers by saying, “Therefore also we have as our ambition… to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Wambui has laid up great treasures in heaven and her reward will be great and worth the price she paid in this life.