Giving Up

Mak Cik (pronounced "MAHcheek") cooks onions and spices on her dirty stove. She adds meat and stirs. The delicious aroma fills her tiny apartment. There are fifteen people who live with Mak Cik. Every day she has to cook and clean for them. They are her children and grandchildren, but she does not feel any love from them. She feels like they are only taking advantage of her.

Mak Cik wipes a tear from her eye. She misses her husband. He died many years ago and left her with this selfish and argumentative brood of young people. Then there is her son and daughter: the ones that loved her. They are dead now too. She cannot take a job because she must stay home to take care of the babies. If she doesn’t, no one will.

Mak Cik watches the meat sizzle in the pan. Yesterday she received one-hundred dollars from the government. That much money could go a long way in helping Mak Cik feed her family. Perhaps she would even have money left over to buy some clothes. Not many, mind you, but maybe some.

But not this time. Maybe another time. This time Mak Cik spent the money the best way she knew how. She bought spices, vegetables, and the best cuts of meat in the market. She spent every penny. And now she cooked it. This was a feast; but not a feast for her family.

No, Mak Cik has given up on her family. She is cooking this meal for the leaders at the local mosque. If she makes them a delicious meal, maybe they will pray to the spirits of her husband and son and daughter. If they remember, they will ask the spirits to help her.

Mak Cik has given up on her living relatives and has given up on praying. Will you pray that Mak Cik will have ears to hear the gospel that is being shared with her? Will you pray that her heart will open to the true love that Jesus Christ has for her? Until Mak Cik can pray as a loved child of God, will you pray?



Photo credit "Nasi Lemak, Mamak, Sydney" by Mw12310 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.