I recently finished reading this book, and I wanted to share it with you guys because of the profound effect it had on me. It is very easy to read. I finished it in two sittings.
This story is the memoir of a woman named Mende who was abducted from her village as a young child. She was beaten and raped, forced to work endless hours with no pay, subjected to mental torture (on top of the physical), and taught that she was nothing more than a worthless slave. I'm sure you've heard these stories before. But here is the unique part about Mende's story. She is my age. She is living today.
While I was in school complaining that I didn't fit in or worried because no one liked me, she was fighting for her life. She talks about one date in particular - New Year's Eve, 1999. I remember what I was doing that night, too. She was working as a slave. I was sitting at home, feeling sorry for myself because I was sick and had nowhere to go.
It is so easy to see ourselves as the main character in our stories. After all, we don't know anyone else's story like we know our own. However, this book showed me once again that we are all but a small part of a bigger story. I am not the main character. We have a bigger purpose. We exist for more than to work, make money, buy nice things, then die "happy." None of those things end up mattering in the end.
"...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
~ Matthew 6:10
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