The 8 Cow Woman
There once was an American man that fell in love with a woman.
This woman was from an island named Kiniwata where gifts were given to the father of the bride. Usually the dowry was a cow. The more attractive the woman, the more cows that the father received. The woman was considered homely by most, but the man was deeply in love with her.
When he announced the engagement, he gave the father 8 cows as a dowry (an unheard of dowry to most people). The woman was absolutely amazed. She lived a life where she considered herself unvaluable...not worth the effort.
Fast forward a year down the road and you will see a very beautiful happy woman. When she began to treat herself as if she were valuable, her outward appearance reflected it.
Most of us do not consider ourselves valuable.
We desperatly need to compliment each other.
We need to lift each other up at every opportunity.
Thought up by Tmproff at 1:17 PM
4 People Talking:
The part that is missing from this story is how she had to make the choice to believe that she was worth 8 cows.
Sometimes I see people, women especially, who when they are encouraged and loved dismiss it. "If they only knew me" or "there is no way they are right about me" stops the power of the love they are given because they don't receive it...
It seems to me like the problem is two-fold....1) loving others with an "8 cow" love and 2) making sure we are receiving the love being given to us by others...
Can you help someone to learn to receive love?
I think that's part of the point of the story. The woman would NEVER have felt she was worth 8 cows (The entire island didn't believe it) unless someone acted and offered.
Here is an exerpt from the original story:
"Then you did this just to make your wife happy?"
"I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. You say she is different This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things that happen inside, things that happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks about herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands
"I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman."
"But," he finished softly, "I wanted an eight-cow wife."
One of the wisest men I know read this story to me about 9 months ago. He has taught me so much about what it means to be an "eight cow wife". What's more, I think its a beautiful illustration of Christ's love for the Church. Who are we in comparison to Christ, and yet, He payed an unimaginable price for us. I love that you have this on your site! I might steal it from you and put it on mine. Thanks for the warm welcome to the blogging world, i loved the C.S. quote.
I remember asking an African man what kinds of qualities men look for in a wife to determine how many cows she is worth. I asked about the role of physical beauty and he said that was not much of a focus at all. The woman's morals, family, and standing in the community meant more than her outward beauty. I was impressed to hear that directly from him.
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