Tuesday 17 March 2020

Words that change lives


2 Samuel 11:2-5
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

I am pregnant
The words that Bathsheba
had cause to send to David
No instant text messaging
No surprise scan photo
No gender reveal shenanigans
Simply the starkness of the message
I am pregnant
Words that, for David,
changed the trajectory of his life
as he tried to cover his tracks
but was held accountable for his actions
by Nathan the prophet
and by God.
Words that, for Bathsheba,
brought great suffering
and loss
A woman in no position 
to refuse her king
or prevent her husband’s death
A woman who looked loss in the eyes
and was not defeated
but found the strength
to fight back
Those words 
I am pregnant 
wrought in her
fierce love
and determination
Courage
and empowerment
as she mourned the loss of one son
and fought for the rights of another
Bathsheba
abused by one king
and mother to another.
Refusing to carry bitterness
but only love
to see her through.

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