“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
1 John 5:4 (NIV)
My mother passed away seventeen years ago, peacefully in her sleep, at the age of 92. Three years ago, I learned that one of her dearest friends passed away at the age of 102. Although I learned of Elsa’s death too late to attend her funeral service, her family recorded the whole service on a You Tube video.
I watched the funeral video and as I listened to each of her relatives give a touching eulogy, it was obvious that she had a wonderful life, surrounded by family and friends, for her 102 years. In my personal memories of Elsa, I’ll never forget that she had numbers permanently stamped on her forearm.
Elsa grew up in Europe, in a religious Jewish family, but she was sent to a concentration camp either in her teens or early twenties, during the Holocaust. She alone survived among her immediate family, who were all killed by the Nazis. I cannot recall the details of how she finally escaped, but somehow she safely emigrated to America, after the terrible suffering of her early life.
Eventually, Elsa married, had a family and lived a long, fulfilling life here. In watching her family’s eulogies on You Tube, I found it unusual that not one of the eulogies ever made mention of her experience as a young woman, being in a concentration camp.
After wondering about the possible reasons, I realized that her early life of suffering was not being ignored, but that the person she had become was so much more meaningful than the tragedy of her earlier life.
It made me aware that we all have meaning in this world, and we are more than the sum of the tragedies we have overcome.
Each eulogy described who she was to that particular family member and how much love she brought into their lives. I remember once visiting her in her home years ago, and she repeatedly told me how much she loved and missed my mother, who had passed away. She and my mother worked together for fifteen years, and remained close friends after retirement.
I didn’t know Elsa as well as my mother did, but I could see that they both had the same resilient, positive attitude, with a very loving spirit. Elsa was there for my mother when my oldest brother, my mother’s first born son, died in a plane crash at the age of 35.
As I listened to the last and final eulogy, I imagined Elsa and my mother having a joyful reunion in heaven. People may go through unspeakable suffering in their lives, but through resilient faith, they become a pillar of strength and love for others. God is able to turn our mourning into joy, with unexplainable graces if we keep trusting in Him.
Those numbers on her arm were a permanent reminder of the evil that exists in this world, but those numbers didn’t define her, because Elsa lived the rest of her life as an overcomer, not a victim. The person she became during her long life, overshadowed the loss and suffering in her youth. Everyone has the potential to become living examples of God’s lovingkindness, which overcomes evil.
Elsa received the gift from God to live longer than a century. She overcame with faith, hope and love. She might have been a victim of hatred, but she didn’t succumb to hating. She didn’t live her life as a victim, but rose above it, being kind and loving. Elsa and my mother had totally different faith backgrounds, but they had one thing in common, being overcomers.
God gave each of us the potential to overcome our fear with faith, our despair with hope, mourning with joy, and chaos with peace. Paul wrote, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:21)
Lord, help every reader to begin this new year as overcomers, filled with your Spirit, reflecting your love and kindness to others through all the days that you have granted us. Amen