Irene Sendler, a woman worth learning about

Irene Sendler 1910 - 2008

Diane Clark Winter posted an article that introduced me to another person who finished well. I didn't know about Irene Sendler but what I have learned she was quite a person. The article reported how she was up for the Nobel Peace Prize before her death but others won it. I read five or six articles about her. In her early thirties she headed up a 20 member team who at great risk to their own safety rescued 2500 babies from the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto before the Nazis were able to kill the Jews located there.
She and those who followed her lead made a stand against evil. She would be captured and her legs and feet broken and sentenced to death. A bribe spared her life. After the war she worked to establish orphanages and homes for the rescued children. She hid the children with people of faith. She would drive the children out with a truck and had a dog trained in the back who would bark and cover the noise of the children. They used other ways as well. I was glad to learn under her leadership there were others who played a big part in the rescue.
I thought about those parents who knew they had to trust her with their children for them to live. What a painful choice to make, what courage.

Irene with her children now in their late 60's or 70's
 - her choice mattered

In our own time their are people being killed by others in many parts of the world. Evil still exists. In our country, there is abuse of all kinds and violence that destroys the soul and often the lives of too many. Irene's time was extreme, she doesn't look like a hero, she is in fact a small woman. She lived a long life of 98 years and her actions are worth learning about. I think of people who take a life and rob them of a lifetime, she on the other hand gave many a lifetime of being children, parents, and grandparents. One never knows what they can learn, thanks Diane.

Their are times like tonight when the house is quiet and I get a chance to read and write when I enjoy being alone. By choice I have always been a night owl. I can hear Barb sleeping, the sounds of the barges moving on the Illinois River, or trains moving through town. Having times alone to do things you love is not loneliness. One can be in a room full of people and be alone. Depression, loss, isolation can be a terrible experience. I know what depression can do.

Irene Sendler
The strength found in Mothers'
I never ceased to be amazed

One of the truths I experienced during times of insomnia, anxiety and depression was God was with me, "⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  It is a quote from Deut. 31:6 "Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” 8 The Lord is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” Also Jesus said in Matt. 28:20, "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” One of the things I have learned this year is being content.  If you feel alone remember God is with you. We walk today by faith, one day it will be sight. The orthopedic insert is making a big difference in my ankle. Aren't we blessed to have people skilled in different ways to help us to keep moving. Keep walking.