The Woman at the Well- A Tale

Hello. I am the woman at the well. This is my story spoken in my words. I have a name, you know. I am not just "The Woman at the Well." I am a real person. I had a real life but, like many things in my life, my voice was stolen from me so it's not so surprising that I am not named, is it? My name is Svetlana. I was know by my family and friends as Svetli and you can call me that, too. Now that you know that I had a name and what it was, I will continue with my story.

When I was born, I was born into a Samaritan family that was not practicing much of any religion beyond what was required of us to look good to society. We were very poor. My parents had many children. My father was a raging man who would make sure my mother did exactly as she was told. Us kids did exactly as we were told to. We didn't ask questions.

My father was a lazy man. He didn't want to work so he sold some of us children by the day. We did whatever those who paid for us for the day wanted us to do. Sometimes work and sometimes we were used for whatever men wanted to use us for. We had no say and we accepted it as we had no voice and we had to eat.

When I was 12, there was a man, one of my buyers and he said that he would buy me and we could get married and he would always treat me well. He paid my father for me. Once we were married, he did not treat me well. He beat me daily and forced me to do many things. Once I became 14, he threw me out and divorced me. Being yet quite young, another man promised me he would be good to me and I married him. The same thing happened and I was married five times altogether to men who used me. And then the fifth man threw me out.

By this time, I was 18 and no one wanted me anymore. I was terrified to be married again anyway when I met Abishah. Abishah kept me on his property and I worked for him but he didn't want to marry me because of my past and I was just glad I had food and a roof over my head. This was my situation when I met Jesus.

The Jews treated us terribly, like we were dogs. Being treated like a dog wasn't new to me so it didn't really bother me that much. I just thought Jews were arrogant. So, when Jesus asked me for water, I was shocked. Not only was he a Jew, but I was a woman and not a respected woman at that.

When Jesus spoke the words to me "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water," it went deep into my soul. I felt the words. I felt the living water. No one had ever touched my soul like that, not ever. When he said I would never thirst again, I wanted this living water so badly. It was like nothing I had ever thought about or experienced before. When he asked me to call my husband, I didn't know what to say. Would he reject me? Refuse to speak with me again? I was so thirsty for the living water, I almost didn't tell him but I managed to say "I have no husband."

I waited. I waited for the rejection. I waited for him to look down on me, spit on me, treat me like the dog I was sure he thought I was. And, even though I didn't tell him any more than that, Jesus said to me "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." I couldn't believe it! He didn't walk away. He didn't throw a stone at me. He didn't revile me. He knew my whole past, everything, and he accepted me just as I was.

I was filled with amazing joy! I told everyone in town, even those who looked down upon me and thought I was a terrible woman "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" They looked at me with skepticism, like I was a liar, but they could not deny my excitement, my jubilation, and so they followed to see for themselves.

Jesus not only lifted me up and gave me living water and joy for my soul, but he made me an evangelist to my own people, the same people who thought I was trash to be spit upon. He elevated me. He held me up. He treated me as a person with worth. My name is Svetlana. You can call me Svetli. I matter. Jesus gave me a voice and meaning.

This writing is the copyright of Lynne Johnson-Yohnk and was posted with her permission. Additional articles may be viewed here.

Page added December 27, 2025

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