Touched by History

I had never been so touched by history. I held an ID for a person who had gone through the horrible masquerade. As I walked the halls of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, I felt my heart sink deeper and deeper with each of the three floors I descended. This wasn't art, this was pain. It was a horror story that no author could ever create and put into words on paper. I stared at the words on the wall—the stories of the people, the torture that the innocent endured, and felt the way my heart cried out for them. 

The shoes. I looked over the clear, glass-like fence to see the seemingly-endless pile of shoes. They once belonged to innocent people, they were worn, they held stories. They once held life. I may have seemed like just a tourist that day, but the emotion in my heart experienced so much more than that. I was wearing shoes. What would it be like if I had just been practically thrown away and my shoes tossed into a pile as if I was just a number on their death row list? 

Shortly into the tour, tears were very normal. One could only ask "Why?" What if I was ever put in that situation? Would I be one of the lucky few to survive or would I be trapped forever as if I had already passed on from this life? For many of them, life had ended the moment they walked through the gates of the camp they were traveling to. Those people didn't deserve the cruel torture they went through. The way they were killed—I felt broken. 

At the end, I looked back down at the paper ID in my hand and wished I could hug them. I wished the outcome could have been different for them. As I stepped outside, I looked around and I breathed in the fresh air. I was so thankful for our freedom, and I was thankful for the experience. History changed me. 

~ ~ ~ 

This is another piece I wrote for an assignment, and it was definitely interesting to be brought back to a time and place where I felt broken for these people. The textbooks and documentaries really came to life when I stepped into the museum—more like a story-filled self-led tour. I don't think someone with any love in their heart could walk through that place and not feel heartbroken for those people. 

You know, Jesus feels this way for us; He loves us. He doesn't want us to go through troubles, He wants to hold us, He wants us to feel loved. In the end, Jesus died from the worst death possible, and He did it for you; He loves you. If you were the only person to ever believe in Jesus on Earth, He would have died just for you. You're worth it. 

While history may have impacted me, I'm still pushing for the future. I want to do anything I can to share His love. I'm starting with this blog. It's the beginning. Next will be books, and I have no idea what He has in store for me after that or where that will even take me. I'd write one-hundred books if it meant one person could meet Jesus, and Jesus would do anything for you. 

Let Jesus touch you. Let Jesus change you. 

~The Inspired One