Another DESIGNPICS
wife who might have cherished him, the children he might have fathered, the tears of those who love him and the senselessness of his end. How does Jesus see such tragedy? What are you moved to think and do?
Rejoice each day
Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupa- tion, left powerful journals before dying at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Before her imprisonment, she wrote: “We must help you help our- selves. … [A]ll that really matters is that we safeguard that little piece of you, God, in ourselves, and per- haps in others as well. We must help you defend your dwelling place inside us to the last.” As
Hillesum’s train left for Aus- chwitz, she tossed a
note from the car that read: “We have left the camp singing.” Hillesum’s rejoicing amid her fears warded off despair. It was, at once, a prayer to God and a defi- ant “yes” to the wonder of God and God’s grace even in the worst of moments. To rise each day and give thanks for the gift of life and breath, for the beauty of a world charged with the glory of God, for the sheer, star- tling wonder of being alive, this is a powerful act of faith in the God who is ever-present, whose grace flows through life in spite of senseless suf- fering and human evil. Our praise is powerful affirmation that God is still God, no matter what. It moves us to acknowledge every small grace and beauty as a holy and sacramental gift from the Great Giver, whose love is a river of grace that never runs dry.
David L. Miller February 2012 25
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$2.50 Volume 3, Issue 6 January 2010
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