A Mother's love...

I recently saw an episode of 48 hours on CBS. It covered the Islamic terrorist takeover of that elementary school in Beslan Russia Sept.1-3, 2004. The final figures are 1200 plus people in the school were taken hostage by 32 terrorists, 330 of them were murdered…176 of them children. After the first day of the takeover the children and adults were not allowed to eat, drink or go to the bathroom for the next two days while they were held hostage. When the situation erupted bombs killed many of them, many more were shot in the backs as they tried to escape. Over 500 people were injured all told. 24 children were orphaned. Of the 32 terrorists at least ten of them were Arabs from the Middle East.

Any civilized person on earth would call this an act of pure evil. All of it was done in the name of the ‘religion of peace’ by Chechen rebels.

The story of one mother stood out to me in the midst of it. The terrorists allowed the infants and very young children to leave with some of their mothers before the end. Those mothers that also had older children in the school were given the choice to leave with their youngest children or stay with their older ones. All the mothers except one left with their infants. That one mother gave her infant to the Mayor of the town who was attempting to negotiate with the butchers who did this and she decided to stay with her older child. Some of the older children watched, horrified, as their mothers left the building with their younger siblings. The Mayor of Beslan left with the infant.

Now I don’t mean to put down any of the mothers in this. They were all faced with a choice that no parent should ever have to make. They were all dehydrated, hungry, sleep deprived… and horrified. I pray for God to bless each of them in their recovery. But this one mother…she stayed with her older child to suffer whatever the consequences the children would face. This woman looked into the face of pure evil and she was still guided by her love and her courage.

In that one mother, in that one act…I saw hope for all humanity. I never heard her name. I’ll never meet her. But I salute the courage and the love that flows in her veins. She embodied what is best in humanity in that act. I am humbled to be a member of the same race as she. One of Gods' jewels...