An Ocean Of Grace

Ocean is a common name in the region. And Ocean should have had the chance to be an ordinary girl, whose father received a dowry for her when he married her off to her bridegroom in an arranged marriage. She would have, if she had been born normal. 

But Ocean's father belongs to a people group that believe in "Honor Killings". This means that if a girl in the family is believed to have shamed the family name by interacting with men, the family themselves must purge the family of her blood by killing her. Ocean's father's sister had gone to the big city to go to school. Rumor got back that she was in classes with men. So Ocean's grandfather told his son that he had arranged a marriage for him with his first cousin, but that he could only get married after going to cleanse the Family Name. The young man went to the big city, performed the nasty task, and came back. His marriage was duly celebrated, and he married his first cousin. Ocean was their first child. 

Because the marriage of cousins is also typical in this people group, roughly 17% of children are born severely handicapped. Ocean was one of these children. She could not control her urine, and she had cerebral palsy. The family solution for this is to take a second wife, and often a third. Culturally, if a father has a debt, he solves it by arranging a marriage for a daughter. So Ocean grew up with three 'mothers'. And she was never allowed to sit on furniture, because she might leak. She was assigned to the floor, in a corner, because she was shameful. 

And her father married her off young to pay a debt, to a man who didn't know her condition. When he learned he had been tricked, he took it out on Ocean. He told her she had to earn her keep. Every night he dropped her off at a brothel, where she was to work the night and bring him home the money. Now she was not only shamed, she was abused. At the brothel, the method was to invite a man for a drink. The more drinks he bought, the better for the prostitute. And if he used her, she got the pay. So Ocean also developed an addiction to alcohol. Smoking soon followed, a norm for that environment.

Eventually she learned from other women that she could get a divorce and keep her profits for herself. She became independent, but was bound by her anger, shame, grief, self-loathing, the pain of her disease, and her addictions. 

But her pain kept surpassing her ability to control it. One night she needed help getting in her door, she was in such pain she ended up on her knees. The neighbor noticed and came over to help. She had a friend visiting, who asked if she could pray for Ocean. She explained that she followed God, and that God had come to earth to show us how much He loves us. He became a man and is called Jesus, which means salvation. She said that Jesus healed all the sick who came to him, and that He told all those who follow God that they can pray for the sick as well. "The best part," she explained," was that Jesus also paid the ultimate price so we could also have our sins forgiven."

Ocean was amazed. When this woman prayed for her, heat flooded her back and the pain lifted. She was healed! Ocean was intrigued with this Jesus and went with her neighbor to church. When she gave her life to Jesus, she realized that the heavy price Jesus paid to wash her clean also offered her the Grace to give her a new life. She asked God what she should do for income. He showed her that many of the prostitutes had babies that no one was taking care of.

So Ocean babysat, and loved it. She had always wanted children. Now she had many. Occasionally some of them needed foster care. Ocean was there for them. She was in process of adopting one of them when she fell ill. She went to the local clinic and was accidentally given the wrong medication. 

We were all grieved when Ocean died as a result. But shortly before she fell ill she had had a dream. She was taking care of children in heaven and was so happy. The little boy that Ocean was going to adopt was able to go to a couple who had no children. And the love Ocean showed many lives on in the many she touched with Hope.