The day Oskar placed his grandmother's sapphire ring on Helga's finger, her mother's wedding trunk came down from the attic. As was the family custom, Helga would begin adding their names to the roster of brides and grooms embroidered on a silk petticoat in the trunk. From the time she was a little girl, she had dreamed of this special day and had practiced her exquisite stitch.
Just as Helga completed her own name and was threading the needle for Oskar's name, news came that the feared Gestapo had taken Oskar away. Even though Oskar had fiercely opposed the Third Reich, no one had believed such drastic action would be taken.
Inconsolable, Helga dropped her sewing with the unfinished names, and the gown was returned to the trunk in the attic. With it went the laughter and the joy of the young girl in love. As rumors of the death camps reached their city, everyone--- even Helga --- doubted that Oskar's name would ever be stitched upon the petticoat.
With each passing day, Helga retreated more deeply into her books, rarely speaking a word. But what could her family do? All their energies were devoted to surviving the war as the bombs one by one destroyed their city and then their home.
When the bombing ceased, the family gathered to sift through the rubble. Helga's mother spotted her wedding trunk, one of the few possessions that had survived the blast. When she pulled the contents from the battered trunk, the petticoat suddenly caught her eye. There was Oskar's name --- someone had stitched it beside her daughter's name! Everyone stared at the petticoat in disbelief, fearing the site of this would drive Helga deeper into despair. Instead, she knelt down beside the trunk and ran her fingers gingerly over Oskar's name.
From that day on, the joy came back into Helga's life, despite her family's warnings that after all these years it was doubtful that Oskar could have survived.
Liberation day came and went without any sign of Oskar, but Helga continued to watch and wait for him. Months later a lone Holocaust survivor hobbled into town. He stood before them, a skeleton of a man, beyond recognition to everyone but Helga. The smile was unmistakably Oskar's. Through the years the trunk has been pulled out again and again for the weddings of the children and grandchildren of this devoted couple. It is far more a reminder of their love---it is a symbol of hope.
No one ever discovered who stitched Oskar's name on the petticoat, but truly the faith and hope of that individual helped this couple's love to survive.
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Faith is the way of holding onto what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)
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Shared by Joe Gatuslao
Bacolod City, Philippines
Just as Helga completed her own name and was threading the needle for Oskar's name, news came that the feared Gestapo had taken Oskar away. Even though Oskar had fiercely opposed the Third Reich, no one had believed such drastic action would be taken.
Inconsolable, Helga dropped her sewing with the unfinished names, and the gown was returned to the trunk in the attic. With it went the laughter and the joy of the young girl in love. As rumors of the death camps reached their city, everyone--- even Helga --- doubted that Oskar's name would ever be stitched upon the petticoat.
With each passing day, Helga retreated more deeply into her books, rarely speaking a word. But what could her family do? All their energies were devoted to surviving the war as the bombs one by one destroyed their city and then their home.
When the bombing ceased, the family gathered to sift through the rubble. Helga's mother spotted her wedding trunk, one of the few possessions that had survived the blast. When she pulled the contents from the battered trunk, the petticoat suddenly caught her eye. There was Oskar's name --- someone had stitched it beside her daughter's name! Everyone stared at the petticoat in disbelief, fearing the site of this would drive Helga deeper into despair. Instead, she knelt down beside the trunk and ran her fingers gingerly over Oskar's name.
From that day on, the joy came back into Helga's life, despite her family's warnings that after all these years it was doubtful that Oskar could have survived.
Liberation day came and went without any sign of Oskar, but Helga continued to watch and wait for him. Months later a lone Holocaust survivor hobbled into town. He stood before them, a skeleton of a man, beyond recognition to everyone but Helga. The smile was unmistakably Oskar's. Through the years the trunk has been pulled out again and again for the weddings of the children and grandchildren of this devoted couple. It is far more a reminder of their love---it is a symbol of hope.
No one ever discovered who stitched Oskar's name on the petticoat, but truly the faith and hope of that individual helped this couple's love to survive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faith is the way of holding onto what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shared by Joe Gatuslao
Bacolod City, Philippines
