This was first published in a Dear Abby column years ago.
MOM’S STRENGTH, FORGIVENESS STILL INSPIRE DECADES LATER

DEAR ABBY: My dear, late father read the old Baltimore News Post newspaper from cover to cover. He would put me on his lap and read the funnies or something special to keep me current and interested in the news. I have read newspapers ever since — and always your column.

The letter from the woman whose little sister was killed when a young neighbor backed her car out of the driveway brought back many memories.

I believe I knew the family. We were in our early 30s then, with two children of our own. We met the family at church functions. They carried that beautiful child on their shoulders as a trophy — and beautiful she was.

The parents owned a religious bookstore. When news of the tragic accident spread, everyone who knew them showed up at the church service and funeral. I remember the eulogies. That outpouring of love for this precious family was overwhelming.

After the service, there was a profound silence. Then a strong, beautiful singing voice began to fill the church. The song was, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I looked around and realized the voice was coming from the child’s mother! People around me wanted to join in, but they couldn’t choke back the tears.

I watched in amazement as this mother helped her husband to stand as their children followed. She led the entire church in the procession, never losing her strength or composure. Her voice soared above every other in that huge gathering.

She taught us that God loves us so much he grants supernatural strength when we need it most. Please tell this young woman that her family’s example of strength and forgiveness touched my life and many others for more than 24 years.

– LINDA BRESSLER, TAMPA, FLA.

DEAR LINDA: And I’m sure your letter will touch the hearts of others, as it touched mine.

Andras Tamas is the name officials gave a certain man decades ago in a Russian psychiatric hospital. He’d been drafted into the army, but the authorities had mistaken his native Hungarian language for the gibberish of a lunatic and had him committed.

Then they forgot about him. For 53 years.

A few years ago a psychiatrist at the hospital began to realize what had happened and helped Tamas recover the memories of who he was and where he came from. He recently returned home to Budapest as a war hero, “the last prisoner of World War II.”

Not only had this man forgotten his real name, he hadn’t even seen his own face in five decades. So, according to one news account, “For hours, the old man studies the face in a mirror. The deep-set eyes. The gray stubble on the chin. The furrows of the brow. It is his face, but it is a startling revelation.”

Imagine looking at your own face in a mirror and not recognizing it. James 1:22-25 says that is just what people are doing when they listen to God’s Word but do not obey it. There, right before their eyes in Scripture, is an accurate reflection of themselves. But they don’t truly see—with the eyes of their hearts—what the Bible shows them.

Lonely and alone, discouraged and empty hearted
That’s when a man needs a brother

When the burden is heavy, the load to much to bear
That’s when a man needs a brother

When in despair, and needing someone to care
That’s when a man needs a brother

When the strong arm on your shoulders make the tears flow free
That’s when a man needs a brother

When the words, “we’ll make it through together” seem so sweet
That’s when a man needs a brother

When courage is needed and strength to carry on
That’s when a man needs a brother

When you think you can do it alone
That’s when a man needs a brother