Burning heart, piercing truth Grace, Groping…… Tears slide down, swells the embrace Courage, Clutching…… Wrenched apart, iron forged between Resolute, Reeling……. Bars torment, numbness dulling Peace, Pleading…... Chains pulling, sunlight fingering Surmount, Slipping…… Limbs weary, soul silently waiting Bravery, Blenching…… Beating, Beating…. Breathing, Breathing…. death Stillness, Stillness….. Silence, Silence…… life
Rest in peace, little one
Rest in peace
Your troubles are over, little one
Rest in peace
You looked death in the face
Little one
And did not flinch
Pain
Oh, the pain you endured
All because of your love,
Little one
Be not afraid
They talk of justice, little one
They talk of peace
But who, little one, noticed
When you suffered?
Pray, little one
You are safe now
We did not experience “summer” as the rest of the world did this year. I certainly intended to, but God had other plans. On April 18, a day forever seared in my memory, two Turkish believers and a fellow German worker were murdered by five Muslim men in Malatya, the city we lived in. That afternoon my life changed drastically, and I had never felt more alone. Our family sat with the German children that now had no father, and the wife and the fiancée of the Turkish men, isolated from family and most friends by their faith. No words came to my mind, just tears.