SAKHUBAI

"You Are My Only Refuge"

With her parents away, Sakhu had to spend her days without any affection and love either from her husband or from his parents. She now began to love only Lord Vittala. Being a devotee of God since childhood, she considered her husband and his parents as good. She implicitly believed in her father's words: "Vittala will never let you d ' own." She recited His name throughout the day.

Gayyalibai became more and more cruel towards her. But Sakhu bore all the suffering silently. The mother-in-law saw everything wrong with her. If she sits down for a while, "You are lazy and want to escape from work." If she sat down when elders were present, "How dare you sit before the elders?" Sakhu toiled from the daybreak till late in the night. She would eat only when her mother-in-law threw a few morsels of food at her; if  she become angry, food would be much less. At times Sakhu would be very hungry; pained both physically and mentally, she would take out Vittala's statuette and narrate her woes to Him: "For how long should I undergo this punishment, Vittala? How much  more should you test me? You are my savior, mother, father, everything." She found
solace in her prayers.She used to hide the statuette in the folds of her saree at her waist and proceed with her household chores. If her mother-in-law noticed the statuette, she  would be annoyed. Even worshipping God was a sin in that house.

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