I believe that each of us has
had experiences where we had to overcome insurmountable odds to achieve a goal
we had not set for ourselves. Solving problems and overcoming obstacles is part
of the human condition. In retrospect many have admitted that though the
challenge was one they would not chose they learned a great deal about
themselves as they dealt with the situation.
As you read the text ask
yourself:
What would I do?
Why would I do it?
What would I do next?
The Text
“Sí,
sí … yes, but how will I do all this?”
“We
will call for assistance from my friend Myra.
She will send a girl to you who you will train to take care of me. There is too
much for you to do all by yourself. At night, you can take care of me. During
the day you will serve me best outside the casa by taking caring of what
is ours.” Naomi’s eyes widened as Madre Vida spoke about her new
responsibilities. With each utterance, she became more overwhelmed. Her fear
was evident to the old woman, who pointed an arthritic finger at her and
insisted, “You can do this! I have chosen you because I know you will succeed!
Do you believe me?”
Naomi
nodded, surprised that she truly did believe the old woman.
“Yes,
Madre Vida, I do.”
“That
is good.” She pulled the edge of her sheet over the blanket so the soft fabric
was against her tender skin. “I am hungry and thirsty. Please bring me
something to eat before I fall asleep again.”
Naomi
ran to the kitchen, put together a simple meal, and it brought to her. She set
the tray on her bed and turned to leave. “But, child, where is your meal?”
Dashing to the kitchen, Naomi fixed another tray as she pondered the strange
turn of events.
When
she entered the suite, the old woman smiled. “I am glad you have chosen to
stay.” So much freedom … so much responsibility, Naomi thought. How
can I handle everything and discover who I am? The old woman looked up from
her cold beet soup, sweetened with a slight zing from mild chilies, and studied
her daughter’s face. “What is troubling you, Naomi?”
“Forgive
me, but I am concerned. I do not know how to do any of the things you want me
to do.”
The
old woman chuckled. “You will learn.” She mopped up her bowl with some bread
and added, “Just as I did.”
“Just
as you did?”
“Yes,
exactly as I did.” Madre Vida shared how her own adopted madre,
Esperanza, had taught her the very things she would teach Naomi. When Naomi
realized that Vida had felt as ill prepared as she felt now and made it
through, she relaxed. “Listen, why do you think I never brought another niña
here after you? Why do you think it was only the two of us? I know you were
aware, since some of my grown niñas stopped by to visit, that many girls were
here before but none since you came. Even in town, they would ask about you,
but I kept you sheltered with me always. Never did I farm you out. Did you never wonder why? Did it never
seem odd to you that I never treated you as I treated them?”
“Well
… yes, I did wonder about that. But I have always been treated differently no
matter where I went, so it did not seem so unusual.”
“Then
you know that you are one who was set apart. I do not know why, but my good
fortune is that I found you and was able to get you for myself. I have watched
you. I know you. You can do all I ask of you. You will bring blessing upon my
name long after I am gone. And the people here will come to know how much you
care for them as you do what I tell you to do. Now I am tired. You must let me
rest.”
Pondering
this strange turn of events, Naomi took Madre Vida’s tray from her feeble
hands. The old woman smiled up at her. “I was one such as you. Tía Esperanza
gave me this work in trust. I learned to do it and you will as well. Now leave
me, for I must sleep.”
Naomi
walked into the kitchen, set their trays on the counter, and hurried to Madre
Vida’s office. She entered, looked around, and realized it was now hers, as was
the success for the work Vida trusted her to continue. She walked to the
massive oak desk and sat down in the chair the old woman had sat in a few days
before. Knowing her madre as she knew herself, Naomi reasoned that the
top drawer held information she needed. She opened it and took the items out
one at a time. There were timecards for the employees at the market, files for
expenses and vendors, and legal agreements for those who rented space there.
She found a file titled Immigration, opened it, and saw the papers Mr.
Martinez had drawn up for Madre Vida. She set them aside. Under those,
she found a file with her name on it.
She
took it to the kitchen and brewed a cup of tea. As the sun began to set, she
flipped on the outside lights, stepped onto the patio, lit the torches, sat
down, and opened the file. When she scanned its contents, she saw a diagram
that would lead her to a book, which Madre Vida mentioned as important. She
hurried to the office and found a unique book bound in red where the diagram
showed it would be. Eager to look through the file, she returned to the patio,
sat down, and placed the book on the table, intending
to look at it later.
When
she flipped the page and read, “Detener … stop. Go no further until you
read The Book of the Tías,” whatever illusion of independence she had
vanished almost as fast as it had come. She picked up the book and leafed through
its pages. “It seems I received my freedom so I could do what these women
require of me,” she mumbled. Yet as she read, she found the entries
fascinating. Esperanza, who had begun the work, wrote the first entries. Those
that followed were from Madre Vida. As Naomi read her adoptive madre’s
entries, she saw the date when Vida first mentioned that Naomi would be her successor and realized that it
had been written it shortly after she arrived at the casa. Madre Vida’s
last entry to her was a paraphrasing of the last words Esperanza had written to
Vida, the girl who would continue her work. Aware that they applied to
her as well, Naomi spoke them aloud. “Be fearless. Those who have come here
need your assistance.” Though she spoke the words firmly, she was not firm in
her resolve and stayed up all night trying to figure out how she could realize her plans and
continue the work she had benefited from.
As
the shops prepared to open for business, Naomi yawned, and stretched in an
effort to clear her mind. She could not stop herself from thinking, My
letter seems different, as if Madre Vida chose me not because I was convenient
but because of some inner quality she knew I possessed. She hinted at this when
she wrote, “I searched for you until I found you. I sheltered you and
kept you safe. You have received more than anyone else has. I expect you to do
what those who are behind you ask you to do and what those who are coming need
you to do. I have equipped you to do all I have given you to do.”
Moved
by the letter, which had been written years before she heard the words spoken
by the woman herself, Naomi wondered, What did she see in me all those years
ago—a frightened, scrawny, wide-eyed girl with nothing to offer? What made her
choose me? She assumed she would never know. Yet she held The Book of
the Tías in her hand, bowed her head, and accepted the commission. Her fate
sealed, she admitted, I will never find you, mi tío, because I will
never look for you. My heart is committed to meeting the needs of those, like
me, who face deportation. She knew that the letter she had tucked into her
skirt pocket so long ago would go unanswered. Here is a mission God equipped
me for. I will not walk away from it … not for mi tío, not even for my
family!
Her
future sealed, Naomi remembered fleeing Spain because she had feared others
would discover her to be a Jew in a country that allowed only one faith, that
of the Catholic Church. She remembered Madre Vida hiding her in the casa and
feeling safe. As she thought about her journey, her old worries found voice,
and though she would never tell a soul, she remembered that the last name she
had given to Mr. Sosa, Victor at immigration, and the one Madre Vida had given the
attorney which would appear on her adoption papers was not hers. Aware that she
must return to immigration bearing that false name, she found herself more
fearful of deportation than before. Realizing there was no one she could take her troubles to, she got on
her knees and prayed, “Oh, God, help me to help others as my tía helped
me. Allow me to know you and guide me always in the way I should go.” She felt a
heavy weight lift from her. Infused with the joy, which comes when one casts
their burdens upon God, she felt the strain she had been living under vanish. By
agreeing to take the role of Tía and praying to God for his wisdom, I
have again become as I was before the ruinous poison of the Jewish curse caused
me to flee seeking a safe haven, she thought. If only—the memory of
her childhood wish, quiet for all these years, stirred, if only it
had happened sooner! At that moment, she felt as if she could again hear
herself, as a child, praying to God. She had wanted others to think of her as a
true daughter of Spain
rather than a Jew. She had asked God for that blessing. However, her request
had gone unanswered, and the children had continued to call her names, chasing
her home as they yelled at her that she had killed their Christ.
Naomi
cried out, “Oh God of my fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob,
help me do as I am asked! Keep me safely hidden in you and I will serve you all
the days of my life.” She sobbed, aware that by accepting the role of Tía, she
had become visible and all the terrible things that happened to her before
could happen again. For one such as she, who had mastered the art of being
invisible, putting herself in a situation where many would scrutinize her was
unsettling. Yet she was committed to assist those fleeing situations too
painful to describe.
Emboldened
by a renewed faith in the Lord and her position in the community, she asked,
“What can they do to me now? As Tía’s chosen one, I have wealth and a good
reputation with Madre Vida. No one would dare question me about my
ability or my heritage. They will know Madre Vida choose and trained me and
that will be enough for them.” She realized the protection wealth would afford
her and smiled as she stood, blew out the candles, and went to bed.
Until we meet again,
may you be emboldened to move from what is to what is yet to be.
Visit
www.PaulaWordsmith.com to buy Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing Book 1 and pre-purchase
a prerelease copy of book two
