“Two People Knocked on Our Door”

“IT HAS been two years since we had the immense sorrow of losing our little girl.” So begins an open letter in the newspaper Le Progrès, published in Saint-Étienne, France.

“Mélissa was three months old and suffered from the terrible disorder trisomy 18. You never totally recover from such a tragedy that seems so unfair. Though we were brought up in the Catholic faith, we were obsessed with the thought ‘God, if you exist, why do you let such things happen?’” Clearly, the mother who wrote that letter felt distressed and helpless. Her letter continues:

“Shortly after these events, two people knocked on our door. I immediately recognized them as Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was ready to dismiss them politely, but then I noticed a brochure they were offering. It was about why God permits suffering. So I decided to let them in with the intention of demolishing their arguments. I figured that when it comes to suffering, my family really had had its fair share and that we had heard enough platitudes like ‘God gave her to us, and God took her away.’ The Witnesses stayed a little over an hour. They listened to me with great compassion, and when they were leaving, I felt so much better that I agreed to another visit. That was two years ago. I have not become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I started studying the Bible with them, and I attend their meetings as often as I can.”