The Mother of Abel Beth Maachah.

Chapter 1

Abel Beth Maachah

"Mamma, Mamma! Birda, birda sit ma amm!"
The young girl came running into the house. She held up her right arm, blood oozing from six small holes, where something sharp had punctured the skin. If the small wounds hurt, it clearly didn't worry the young girl who was smiling from ear to ear.
The young girl's mother came quickly from the bedroom, concern written on her face. She immediately relaxed when she saw her daughter's smile. The daughter ran to her mother and grabbing her by her dress tried to pull her to the open door.
"Come, come Mamma, come see!
The mother resisted the tugging and made her way to the water basin.
We can go and see what it is that has made you so excited in a minute, first let me wipe the blood from your arms.

The mother was naturally worried as to what had caused the puncture marks, but had learnt to restrain her fear and remain calm, when it came to matters concerning her daughter. The child's exclamation, as she entered the house, 'a bird sat on my arm' also helped to allay any fears that the cause was of a serious nature.

Meadow, for such was the child's name, suffered from autism, hence the lack of coherent speech. Her mother and those who had taken the time to get to know her, could make sense of what she was trying to say. Meadow was in her teen years and had led a sheltered life. Her mother tried to protect her from the teasing and mocking and cruel behaviour that her daughter had suffered, especially in the early years. Meadow was quite fair of face and looked quite normal, except for her twisted mouth, so it was only till she started speaking that you realised something was amiss. She was a sweet, soft natured child, who had a special way with animals and birds. The most vicious dog would allow Meadow to pat it's head. Even wild animals could sense the loving kindness that was inherent in her nature.

A wild baboon, that lived tied to a pole, and made money for it's owner by fighting (and winning) other animals, mainly dogs, would allow Meadow to come close enough to hand the primate some morsel of food or fruit. This shocked everyone, for no-one could come near the animal and even the owner needed help with the chains and could only subdue the baboon by beating it with a club. If Meadow happened to see this treatment, she would cry and shout, "eevaal maan, eevaal maan!" (Evil man, evil man.)

Meadow had one further gift, something even her mother hadn't realised till sometime after she acceded the roll of Wise woman and Mother of Abel Beth Maachah. The Lord had taken away Meadow's ability to communicate properly but had replaced it with the gift of assessing a person's innermost nature. Just a quick glance at someone or just by hearing their voice, Meadow could detect whether they were good or bad. Even her mother's advice and answers to others was subject to the child's smile (acceptance) or verbal outcry of "evil...evil" (disapproval).

Having cleaned and bound the small wounds, Meadow led her mother to the back door and then intimated that she should stay there and watch. Meadow slowly walked out into the yard. She stopped by a box, which her mother used to dry salted meat, she broke off a small piece and proceeded to the stables. There she stopped. Holding up her bandaged arm, she took the meat with her other hand and waved it slowly to and fro. Suddenly there was a flapping of powerful wings and a barn owl, leaving the protection of the stable rafters, flew down and settled on Meadow's bandaged arm. She held up her other hand, the owl snatched the meat and swallowed it with one gulp. Meadow turned and waved to her mother, her smile reaching from ear to ear. The owl remained on the girl's arm, preening itself, quite unperturbed by her waving actions. Only Meadow could have enticed the normally very private and mainly nocturnal bird to take food from her. She really was special. After a short while the mother noticed her daughter cringing, she quickly realised that the bird, in an attempt to steady itself on the child's arm, was digging it's talons deeper and deeper into her arm. The bandage was of little help. The mother took a few steps outside, the bird flew away. Meadow didn't resist when her mother led her inside, disinfected the new and old puncture holes with honey and rewound the bandage. All the time she was busy, the mother kept talking to her daughter. "That was so special, my love. You have made a new friend. I can see I will have to salt some more meat now that we have a new mouth to feed."
At the last statement the girl jumped up and down, shouting, "Taa Mamma Taa!" (Two Mamma, two!)
The mother smiled and said, "Oh I see. There is a mummy and a daddy owl. My, my! very soon we will have lots of little mouths to feed. I know.....Mamma will go to the tanner who lives in one of the villages outside the city wall. We will ask him for a piece of leather. I will make you an arm band to protect you from the owl's sharp talons, then it won't hurt you when you feed them.
"Thun kuew Mamma" (thank you Mamma) Meadow replied.

Meadow's mother and father had come to Abel Beth Maachah when she was only 3 year's old. The shock of realising that their little girl wasn't normal had brought them to this city. They had heard that there was a Man of God, a very wise man, who sat in the town square every day and answered the questions people asked of him. The young couple had come to ask the Man of God why their little girl couldn't speak properly, was it something they had done. Had they sinned.....was Yahweh punishing them?

When they asked these questions, the Man of God had just smiled. He lifted the little girl onto his lap and asked, "What is your name little one?"
The little girl said nothing, she smiled as she reached up to feel the old man's beard. The mother, embarrassed by the silence, offered the name, "Mara" she said. The smile disappeared from the old man's face. "Why would you name the child so?" He said sternly. The mother answered, "Because of the sorrow her impediment has brought us."
"Huh!" The old man answered, "the sorrow is yours, not the child's, and it is misconceived. Except for her utterance, give me one instance where this child has brought you sorrow.?"
Sheepishly the mother and father together replied, "None, Father."
"This child is the sweetest and most loving human being I have held in my arms for a long time, and I sense that she has been blessed by Yahweh and has been given a special gift by the Lord. I therefore forbid you to use the name you have chosen. From this day forth she shall be called Meadow, for you have brought her to this city and Abel Beth Maachah will be her home and her name is the meaning of this place." The young couple, upon hearing all the wonderful things said about their daughter, readily agreed.

The Man of God asked of the mother, "And what is your name?"
"Serah" She replied. The old man, having been looking down at the child, raised his eyes and looked deeply into the eyes of the mother and asked, "Are you a descendant of Serach bat Asher?"
"My mother spoke of such a person who with her brothers were allotted land by Joshua when they entered the land of Canaan." Serah replied. "Aah!" said the old man, "I thought this child on my lap was special, but I think her mother is even more so!"
Serah, slightly embarrassed, and feeling the redness in her face increasing, answered,
"I think you are mistaken, Father, there is nothing special about me."
"Come hither my Daughter, seeing that you call me Father, I shall call you daughter. Let me lay my hand on your head." Serah obeyed.
"Ah yes I feel it, the Lord has blessed you with all the wisdom and knowledge that your great, great grandmother possessed....and even more. You shall have great courage and be fearless, and your name shall be known far and wide. The people will love you and you will care for them and you will be known as the Mother of Abel Beth Maachah." The Man of God dropped his hand from Serah's head and his shoulders drooped as if the prophesy had taxed his strength. "I am tired now, and have kept you and your family from your chores long enough. I would love to tell you of the interesting history that is yours. If you have time, come see me tomorrow and we will journey back in time together. Goodbye Meadow!"