The Bride Price

By: Judith Victoria Hensley

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Bride Price is an allegory of God's great love for His Son, and his Son's great love for His bride, the church. The inspiration for this story came through the author's friend from South Africa who related to the author details that she believed to be true events from a traditional oral story of the culture that honored the bride price. This information evolved into its fictional adaptation in this book

Shalayah had no hope of ever leaving her position in service to the royal family. Had her parents not had positions at court and been counted among friends of the royals, she would have had no place to turn after the death of her parents and the passing of their estate to an older male relative who did not want her in his household. In service to the the king and queen, she served faithfully from a place of loyalty and gratitude.
She held no hope of being a wife or mother. Without a father to negotiate her marriage and arrange an acceptable settlement known as "the bride price," there would never be an opportunity for her to have a different life. She accepted her fate with grace and served in ways required of her.
The one thing she had not allowed herself to believe was that God had a different destiny for her than the one she was living day by day. When delegates from another kingdom came in search of a wife for their beloved king's son, Shalayah's involvement was meant only to promote the elder princess of the royal family whose beauty was unparalleled and sought by many wealthy kingdom rulers.
Through a series of chance encounters with the delegates, God set in motion events that would reveal His destiny for Shalayah and change her life forever.