Article November 1, 2004 Issue

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

By Eva-Maria Hogrefé

My Heart Goes Out to the mothers and fathers whose children work or live in dangerous circumstances. Wars and conflicts such as the one now going on in Iraq sometimes expose servicemen and women to great peril. I feel for their families—especially the mothers—because of an empathy that is born out of my own experience.

I'm a mother, too. And I've had concerns for the safety of my son. Though he wasn't fighting in a war, many years ago he, too, lived far away, and in a country unfamiliar to him.

I recall one night when I woke up frightened and confused. For some reason I felt intuitively that my son was in danger. I had no apparent reason for this overwhelming fear. And although I felt an urgent need to pray for him, I was so upset that I couldn't. Fear has a tendency to inflame the imagination, and my imagination was running wild.