I’ve been reading this true story about a dysfunctional family from the middle east that has captured my attention and has consequently shaped my world view. It spans several generations as it follows this family along their journey throughout the land. The story highlights the struggles and the triumphs as well as the issues similar to those that we all face within our own families. While their language is different and their traditions are exclusive to their own customs, their shortcomings mirror other cultures. It reveals the flaws that give its story authenticity and reminds us that people are much the same no matter where they come from.

That being said, there are also fantastic occurrences and events that these people witness like no other family has. There are situations that they are put in where they are ultimately and miraculously saved from certain destruction. Their help at times seems to come from an invisible hand that carries them throughout their journey.

Yet on the other hand, they have also suffered hardships and persecutions like no other people. They have been enslaved, they have been beaten, they have been tortured and they have been humiliated beyond belief! They have been scattered like the wind to other countries, other nations, other continents and other cultures, yet they continue to practice their traditions and maintain their native language and culture. Against all odds they thrive even to this day and they are still a people, a family, a nation.

While other nations have collapsed and fallen hard into the abyss of history, this family continues to grow and survive even among the hostility that surrounds them. The fact that they still exist today is nothing less than a miracle. They should have disappeared long ago, and yet here they are back in their homeland!

This story has changed my world view primarily because of the continued existence of this particular family. This fact not only validates the narrative, but it also validates the book that contains it. You have, no doubt, heard of this book. It is called The Bible. It has also been attacked throughout the generations, but much like the family that it highlights, it too has survived the persecution.

S. Oertle