Mistaken Assumptions

A few weeks ago I had very interesting dream.   In that dream I saw a Masai girl – Salepo (a name I have given her) who goes to school and leaves her mother at home.  In my dream, it seemed like a world of two Salepo and the mother.  

The school that Salepo went to appeared to be a boarding school because I didn’t see her coming back home – ever.  When the mother (a typical Masai woman) misses her, she looks for non-traditional clothes to wear to go and visit Salepo.  Since she would normally wear her traditional outfit, her good non-traditional clothes were not good enough.  Even as I write this, I can still picture her clothes in my mind.  But the sad part is, when she got to school, Salepo refused to see her mother.

The mother, heartbroken, went back home cursing, assuming that the fact that she could not afford better clothes or didn’t know how to dress well was the reason for her daughter’s rejection.

She felt sad for a few days but when she overcame all that due to the love she had for her daughter, she decided to go and see her again. She appeared to be wearing the same clothes she had the first time she went visiting, but without the blue chiffon clothe she had covered her skirt with.  I then realized the reason she covered the skirt the first time.  For beneath that chiffon, there was an all torn skirt, and one could see the black lining off the pinkish burgundy skirt.  

When she got to school, she received the same treatment from her daughter Salepo.  Salepo didn’t want to see her and because she gave her no reason, her mother thought it was because of the clothes.  She left the school which she had to walk a long distance to get to and went back to her manyatta (her traditional house).  This time around she took some time before going to see Salepo.  When she went to see her the third time, Salepo still would not budge and did not say why.  

This time around I was really heartbroken and as a silent observer (I think that’s what I was) in the dream, I decided to ask Salepo why she refuses to see her mother who loves her so much.  Salepo said she does not want to see her mother because her mother wants to take her out of school to give her away in marriage (or that’s what she thought).   I explained to Salepo that her mother does not want to give her away in marriage and furthermore when they want to give away a Masai girl in marriage, it is the men who come to take her away – not the mother.  

Salepo felt bad and regretted how she mistakenly treated her mother but by this time her mother had already left and vowed never to come back to the school.  Her mother became very demoralized and the next time I saw her was when Salepo was finishing her primary school education where she had grown even taller than her mother.  It is a sad re-union for me to witness because the mother had not only lost her sparkle but also her drive to live.  

Salepo told her that she was going to High School and she got some money out and gave it to her.  When Salepo asked her what she has been up to these days, she pointed to a hill at a nearby distance and Salepo seemed to understand that her mother was involved in some shady dealings because I heard her say “shame on you”.  

I saw them hold hands and left towards the hill together but as soon as they started walking up the hill, I had some huge rocks trampling down towards them and that’s when I woke up crying and I really cried and prayed for Salepo and her mother (or what they represent).

My heart ached and bled for what the two represent.  Talk of mistaken assumptions; think they don’t happen in real life?  Think again.  It is a reality in our families, schools, work places and even in our churches and ministries.   There is so much pain and brokenness that has been caused by mistaken assumptions.  

But one thing is clear – it is a tactic of the enemy.  Let us not allow mistaken assumptions rob us of something beautiful like the love of a beloved or even the love of God.  Even if you have been wronged, let it go.  Psalm 130:3 says, If you, Lord kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?  

Think about that and pray!