A few times this week I have found myself in a conversation that we reiterate: “When You Have the Lord, You Have Everything” – OR “When you have lost everything you realize you have the Lord and the Lord is Everything and therefore you have everything you need…”

As for myself – I can not even compare myself to my distant relative who survived the WW2 forced labor camps – I have continued reading his memoir – and we think of these days so far ago but they are less than 100 years ago…. And having just come back from a trip to europe – the towns and landscape are fresh in my mind and I envision my distant relative’s plight from train rides to walking on foot – it is hard to imagine making it – and it is truly the protection of God – physically – that he made it. There was intervention on the way – an old guard member who stopped guarding them – perhaps knowing the situation in Dresden – perhaps just feeling compassionate – we will never know. And there were people who helped – gave them fresh socks – protected them.

And in life we do ask – when bad things happen to good people – does that mean that God’s Hand is withdrawn? I don’t think so – it simply means that we can’t imagine how deep the brokenness of this world is and oh how healing it must be when we turn to God – it emphasizes the empathy – and down plays the whimsy of our God. All I really know is that I will follow God either way. and we do know the Psalm 23 truth that David sings about: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (and we know of people who help us immensely in bad situations, they are God’s angels.)

Perhaps in the horror of war or simply in the mundane of days or in the midst of tragedy or just the day to day life – we are to remember that God does not change and His mercy is His – and someday wars will cease and evil will be put to rest – forever.

Here is the next installment of the WW2 memoir – my relative had just escaped the forced labor camp that was destroyed by the air raid – 1945 in Dresden – and a few of them had just come out of the air raid shelter and decided to leave – go south and continue to freedom. (May we always remember to go to God and to freedom.)

Memoir part 2:

“The sight was terrible. No one knows how many people died in Dresden. A rough estimate is 35,000 people. I had half-shoes in my briefcase, which I gave to a friend who ran to the shelter barefoot. I had a razor, a small jar of lard, and my friend had bread.

“We reached Dippoldiswalde by road, but there a younger guard wanted to send us back to Dresden. But the old Volkasturmák, who was guarding us after that, just waved his hand. Then we went to Cínovce carefully through the forest above the road so that no one would catch us. It took a long time, in the forest above Cínovce I washed myself in a puddle, shaved so as not to arouse suspicion.

“There was no border in Cínovec, we went to Dubí. There was the final border of the tram /under the ČSD train station. It was noon, we heard planes overhead, heading for Dresden. We didn’t wait, we changed to a tram, got off at the final stop and headed on foot.

“Somewhere on the way, two drivers loaded us with a truck, drove us, showed us the protectorate border. 

“We crossed the soggy fields to the first village. We were given food in the first cottage, we washed ourselves – especially our shoes, they gave us clean socks and in the evening, in the dark, we set off for the railway. We arrived at the train station and took the first morning train. I changed to a train to “—“, I was left alone, my friends turned off to “—“. I road as if to work, there were checkpoints passing by, checking my documents, they didn’t notice me.”

To be continued…

Remember God’s protection today – and the blessings we have…

Amen

—

Psalm 23 New King James Version
The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.