Ucaya first got married at the age of 17. But by age 29, she’d been widowed twice.
When her first husband passed away, he left her with two children. She couldn’t make ends meet trying to provide for them alone, so she was forced to return home to live with her parents.
Thankfully, while there, she married another man. But after they had four children together, the second husband also tragically passed away. While Ucaya grieved this terrible loss, she was also subjected to violence and mistreatment from his family.
Once again, the young mother found herself returning to her parents’ house. Little did Ucaya know that another great blessing awaited her in the middle of her suffering—a blessing even greater than the first.
Becoming the Bride of Christ
While staying with her parents, Ucaya began to follow Jesus. She became an active participant in her local church, taking care of the building and serving visitors.
The first time she’d returned home after a shattering loss, she’d found a new husband. This time, the Heavenly Bridegroom found her.
In 2020, about 14 years later, Ucaya considered joining the Mothers’ Union, a group of widows and low-income women who were supported by the Church of Uganda. But God had other plans.
God Turns Mourning into Dancing
One day, as Ucaya was serving tea to the Ndrulo Bible translation team, she overheard them working on 1 Timothy 5:1–16 and asked them to read the Scripture portion for her.
In this passage, Paul advises that widows under 60 should remarry, rather than being supported by the church. “What I heard touched me so much,” Ucaya remembers, “especially about the age of registering as a widow. I decided that I will remarry since I am only 43!”
After going through so much pain at such a young age, she may have thought her time for earthly love was over. But God’s Word in her heart language of Ndrulo gave her a new perspective.
Later that month, Ucaya shared with the team that she had accepted a marriage proposal from a God-fearing man who had been asking her to marry him for quite some time. After years of loss, pain, and hardship, God has brought new love and hope to Ucaya through his Word.
Nzǐ nyi ndíy ndèy mí kpatss̀ dhi nì ɦìytss ní li ródho ì kpá dhi nì dhì kàó cha ì ùw Yesu nì kpa nì ì rónga pbǒ nì děy nzá à mí cho kâ drì-drí nga za ní, à déy ndèy kòw ndèy ddìngà nà nì li, cha ndèy ɦuwdjò drr̀ ndèy mí lǎní njí dhò nì, cha ndèy nguw nì nděyngá nzòw lǎní nì li, ndèy kwó nì lu lǎní nděyngà dzá nì li, cha ndèy kwó nì thí ní ndrǔ nì li, cha ndèy kwó nì ì nì ì nza nì ndrǔ ni li ndèymí ndèy njèy nì lǎní njí ndèy ró ꞌwiy nì nà li.
— 1 Timothy 5:9–10 (Ndrulo)
