One of my favorite short stories comes from a man named Moses. Moses was not a handsome man. He was short and he also had a very hunched and disfigured back. When he met a beautiful young lady named Frumtje, Moses fell madly in love, but Frumtje was repulsed by the appearance of Moses and his hunched back.
Finally getting the courage to talk to her, Moses asked, “Do you believe that all marriages are made in heaven?” Frumtje said yes. Moses said, “In heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord said, ‘But Moses your wife will have a humpback.’
“Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, let her be beautiful and give me the hump to carry.’” Frumtje fell in love with Moses and became his devoted wife.
Can you imagine a gesture more beautiful than this? Not only was Moses a hunchback he was a romantic soul. No wonder Frumtje fell in love with him. He had an inner beauty.
I was recently reminded of this story as I read “The Little Locksmith” by Katherine Butler Hathaway. In this story a young girl is fighting Pott’s disease where becoming a hunchback is a side effect. Her family kept her bedridden from the age of 5 to the age of 15 to try to prevent the inevitable twisting of her spine. (Ten years in bed. Flat on her back.)
When I originally suggested this novel of nonfiction for my book club, I thought it would be a tragic story of her bedridden life and how much this person suffered throughout her life. I was so wrong. I wanted to read her words slowly, absorbing every phrase and quote.
My favorite is her description of a good friend being a “gardener of human beings.” She felt that the most difficult “human” plants are all in the wrong places suffering drought or heat or dampness when if only a noticing, intuitive hand of a friend could move among them with support and love they might all flourish as they were meant to do. Her friend never saw her delicate health or her disfigurement; she only spoke of her beauty and of her talents. Wouldn’t this be the greatest compliment? To be called a gardener of human beings and to help people discover their own inner beauty? To Katharine, there was nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
How often we see the darkness of those around us when if only we could place our focus on the positive? To build up and encourage one another and support each other’s talents, those apparent and those they keep well hidden. Sometimes we have to look beyond the “hunchback” to see the beauty within.
“Inner beauty is a kind of radiance. You can see the people who possess a true inner beauty, their eyes are a little brighter, their skin a little dewier. They vibrate at a different frequency.” ~Cameron Diaz
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes. You can email her your thoughts and messages at sandyholthaus1010@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you.
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