There comes a time in each one's life when we are put to big test. I am not talking about being annoyed with some of the daily nuances that we encounter, but rather a few large tests that will determine much about our faith and resolve. Times when we are really pushed to our limits, when you actually think for a moment that you can not and do not have the power to pull yourself together and face this moment, that you are emotionally pushed to the brink of quitting. Are any bells being tolled for you?
It could be from a death of a parent, spouse or child, or the loss of a job that has you wondering how you will make ends meet when others are depending on you to be strong. The times when you are faced with hurt feelings from someone who you thought was close to you, or maybe feeling despair in your life for being treated poorly by those same folks.
As hard as it is to keep the faith during these situations, you must just do exactly that. I wonder how my mother was able to handle what was cast upon her shoulders during WWII, from the hands of the pure evil of Nazi Germany. Witnessing the effects of her father being ravaged and brutally beaten, helplessly watching as he died. Losing any resemblance of her once happy life, being caught up in the hell of the Labor and Concentration Camps, and finally being separated from her loving mother, the only person she had left, last seeing her on the morning of her sixteenth birthday. How did she overcome being distraught, the pain and terrible memories of that traumatic time in her life? She simply forgave those that did her so wrong. She put her faith in God Almighty and he helped her realize that would be all she would ever need to do. How sweet is that!
The next time you face a defining moment in your walk through life, remember this simple message, Forgive those who trespass against you, and forgive from the heart. God will take care of the rest for you!
Love John
Hi John, I just read your Mom's story in Secret Holocaust Diaries. I am so thankful that she made her written memories available for the world. People need to read this.
ReplyDeleteMy parents as well as my husband were born in the Ukraine, and my husband and his family were also in Europe during the war - losing family members and fleeing from the enemy.
Your Mom's story touched me deeply ... I am sorry you have lost you Mom and more recently your father, but what a rich heritage has been deposited into you and your siblings.
God bless you and thank you for sharing your Mom's heart and faith with us.
I am reading your mother's book now and am about half way through. I love WWII books and movies - I find it very moving that in the face of pure evil, with resourcefulness, perseverance and faith, people can overcome even the very worst of circumstances. I commend your mother for sharing her truly devastating but also truly inspiring story.
ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Bannister,
ReplyDeleteI just listened to your mother’s book and was very moved and enlightened by her story. Thank you for helping to share it with the world! I was researching a little bit and read that it’s possible Anna wasn’t killed in the concentration camp and that she went back to Russia. Is that true? I though, oh how tragic! That her mother lived and she didn’t know! But then I thought it was the grace of God that her book was published after Nonna’s death, so she would not know she had missed all those years with Anna. I pray you and your family are well. I’m sorry about the passing of your father. He sounded like a kind and wonderful man when I heard him in the interview. Be blessed!