Etty’s witness is evidence that we do not need to fear suffering so much as we need to fear separation from God. The things of this world will eventually all pass away—sometimes in terrifying fashion—but if we keep ourselves rooted in the God who transcends all earthly things, we can find a hope that will sustain us through anything we might face. Etty encountered the worst kind of nightmare we can experience in this life; she was brought to the brink of death, and there she found love and joy and gratitude. She became intimately familiar with a paradox of our human existence: the reality that we can find joy in suffering, that there is meaning and beauty in our pain.
work in progress 