He saved them from the hand of the foe;
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
Psalm 106:10
Irena Sendler
In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland and began their war against
the Jewish people there. They began by establishing ghettos into which all Jews
were forced to relocate. Food was scarce. The housing was filthy and crowded.
The guards were brutal....and the days to come would only get worse.
Yet, there were heroes.
One woman, a woman whose name you may have never known, took
action. Irena Sendler, a Catholic woman in her thirties, decided to join an
underground movement against the Germans. In the beginning she helped Jews by
providing food, shelter and over 3,000 false documents which allowed some to
flee the coming Holocaust. The punishment for these “crimes” was death, but Irena
continued her heroic work. Later, God would call upon her in even greater ways.
Because she worked for the Social Welfare Department, Irena
was given a special permit to enter the Warsaw Ghetto to check for signs of
disease among the Jews trapped there. But that’s not all Irena was doing.
Irena realized she had a unique opportunity to help the
Jewish children held captive by the extraordinary evil of the Nazis. With total
access to the ghetto, she organized the smuggling of children out of the
Ghetto, carrying them in boxes, suitcases and hand trolleys. She even smuggled out babies and small
children in by disguising them as packages.
The children were placed with non-Jewish Polish families, in
convents, or in church rectories where they could be further hidden. In order
to keep track of their original and new identities, Irena She hid lists of the
children’s names in jars. She assured the children that when the war was over
they would be returned to their families.
In 1943, Irena was arrested by the Gestapo, severely tortured, and sentenced
to death.
In total, Irena Sendler saved at least 2500 children from of the ghettos and
away from certain death. Her story is a reminder that there are always opportunities
for you to become a hero for those in need. It only takes the mind of Christ,
thinking as Christ would think in any given situation, to provide you with the
wisdom and courage to do what He needs done.
No, you may not be called upon to smuggle children out of danger. But, you
may be asked to help a friend at work, to assist a single mother, to change a
tire, to serve a meal, or if it is God’s will, give your life to save others as
Jesus did.
Fortunately, this was not Irena’s calling. You see, on the way to her
execution in 1943, the German guards, having been bribed by Irena’s colleagues
in the underground, left her for dead in the woods. She was rescued and lived
out the rest of her life in Poland. After the war, she dug up the jars with the
children's identities. For years, she tried to return the children to their
families. However, almost all the parents died in the Holocaust.
Having been honored by several international organizations, she passed away
in 2008.
The message of Irena Sendler’s life is that all of us have a job to do.
Because the Lord needs each of us to help one another in times of danger, pain,
suffering and grief. Right now, He needs you to rescue his children from
whatever ghettos they face – large or small. Yes, He needs YOU to be his Hero
today.
This Week's Prayer
Dear Lord, I am willing to go where You need me to go
and do what You need me to do. I only need you to make me able. Give me the
power of Your Holy Spirit and the courage to move ahead in helping others. You
are my Hero for saving my soul and giving me eternal life. Now, I want to be
Your hero by following Your will every day and in every way. Amen.
