The Gracious Woman

The Gracious Woman
by Grace Morgan

 

“A gracious woman attains honor, and ruthless men attain riches.” - Proverbs 11:16

   Once there was a woman named Abigail who sold linen garments in the city market to help support her family. One of the wealthiest men in the city was named Rayn; however, everyone knew that the majority of his money came from cheating and stealing and gambling, not from honest hard work.
    One evening when Abigail was on her way home from selling in the market, she rounded a corner only to see Rayn stealing money from a small, crying boy. When the evil man saw Abigail, he picked up a few more coins that were scattered on the road and then ran away toward the tavern. Abigail went over to the crying child to comfort him. Quickly, she bound his hand up with one of her belts to stop it from bleeding, for Rayn had stomped on the child’s hand to prevent him from picking up the spilled money. 





 Without even hesitating she gave the little boy the exact amount of money that Rayn had stolen from him from her day’s earnings. After making sure that the lad was alright, she went home.

    The next day, Abigail was walking to the market again when she overheard some ladies gossiping. They were saying that Rayn had broken the last remaining straw of the villagers’ patience, because he’d robbed and hurt the minister’s son the night before. Rayn had finally been arrested and thrown in jail.
    Abigail was shocked! She hadn’t known that the boy was the minister’s son when she’d helped him, but she supposed that made it all the better.

    Abigail continued to be a woman full of graciousness until she was an old woman, and the day that she died the whole town mourned for her death and their loss of such a godly woman, but rejoiced that she’d finally left to be with her Savior.