you've heard that in order to understand someone you must "walk a mile in their shoes." i didn't have to borrow any shoes. i inherited her hair.
"i had this hair when i went to auschwitz. it was always braided, but not when i went to auschwitz. on that day it was exactly like yours."
those were some of the first words out of ann's mouth when she saw me.
ann rosenheck is a holocaust survivor. She was "born in czechoslovakia near the mountains." she went to auschwitz and dachau. she lost her entire family in the holocaust. she experienced great suffering, and she survived. and we share hair. and now we share a story.
yesterday, i told the story of her survival to a room full of other survivors, their families, and community members in miami, florida. Ann's story, along with nine others, is told in the reader's theatre production of ...Who Returned My Soul, written by Kelly Brock.
by telling ann's story and meeting her, i am now a part of her story as she is a part of mine.
it may sound cheesy or ridiculous...but maybe God made my hair big, and frizzy, and the perfect length for just that moment. to tell just this story. so i could be ann rosenheck for those few minutes. is it so preposterous? we believe God does the big things - like world-wide floods and resurrections. maybe God works in the little things too. maybe he works through my hair.
maybe he loves ann and i enough to work this little miracle for us. i believe that he does.
anne prayed this prayer everyday that she was imprisoned, and she still prays it today: "i am thankful before you, living and sustaining Ruler, who returned my soul to me with mercy. your faithfulness is great."
amen.
