By Pastor Ron Buxton
History has taught us that amid the greatest horrors of mankind, some of its greatest acts of love can also be demonstrated at that same time. Charles Dickens began his classic book The Tale of Two Cities with those famous words: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” And that irony best captures what sometimes went on during the Second World War. Allow me to retell one such incident.
The following is a true story. It involves one of the vilest times in recorded history. It was during the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany. And it demonstrates the unshakable love of a mother due to an almost supernatural, God-given instinct.
Mr. Solomon Rosenberg was sent to a concentration camp with his entire family. He went there with his elderly parents, his wife, and his two sons. The rule was simple at that camp. As long as you could work, you were permitted to live. However, when a person became too weak (or injured) to work, they were exterminated. As I said before, it was the worst of times.
Throughout those days of drudgery and fear, Mr. Rosenberg witnessed in horror as both of his elderly parents were marched off to their deaths. And he just knew that his frail, youngest son named David would be next. That was what he dreaded each day as he himself headed out to the work camp. Each night, as the family huddled together in the barracks following long hours of hard work, Mr. Rosenberg would embrace his family and thank God that they’d survived another day. They’d also pray for a quick end to the War. Rumors circulated that the Allied Forces had begun to liberate some of Western Europe, and it was the hope that they carried into bed each night as they went to sleep.
One fateful evening, Rosenberg came back to the barracks, and he knew that something was terribly wrong. Soon, he discovered his eldest son Joshua weeping uncontrollably in a remote corner. Rushing towards him, Mr. Rosenberg blurted out, “Please tell me. Tell me it’s not true. Tell me that they didn’t take David away!”
Between sobs, Joshua responded, “It’s true. Today, David was not strong enough to do his work, and so, they came for him.”
“Where’s your mother?” asked the now distraught Mr. Rosenberg.
“When they came for David”, Joshua replied, “David began to shriek in fear. And mom told him that there was nothing to be afraid of. She took his hand, and went with him.”
Folks, I still cry as I type those words now. In fact, I’ve probably retold that true story a half-dozen times already–and every time it gets me. Motherhood, as created by God, has an unshakable love as its primary ingredient. It transcends human reasoning, or even an ability to fully describe it. However, Mrs. Rosenberg certainly had it. I’ll never tire of retelling her story. Happy Mother’s Day!