Dear Editor:

If one person makes you feel like a different person because of what they say or do, then they have defined you and you have lost the ability to be who you are unless you find hope.

Oct. 27, began our travel to Hanover, Massachusetts to celebrate our 12-year-old granddaughter’s birthday.  We were unaware of the early 10 a.m. Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting until Sunday morning heading back to Maine. 

As the story unfolded, it was difficult to drive without tears in my eyes.  This hate crime was more than hate.  A man with a gun gave himself license to kill 11 souls and injure six more in the Tree of Life synagogue.  

The story slowly unfolded as police and ambulances arrived. Many were in a state of shock and disbelief, as names of those who had left this world began to be released. It is hard for me as I see those who are killed as members of my family.  They are not strangers, they are neighbors and all are children of God.  

On Monday I copied the list of names and the beautiful roles they had played in their Tree of Life community before they were taken by a 46-year-old man whose hate had kept him from finding hope in his life. I was searching for my own hope that could slow down the tears and remind me that every soul matters and is called to lead in kindness.  I offered to share the list with my neighbor.

Hope arrived when my neighbor offered to come over to share a prayer for families and community alike as we read the names out loud. “Tears bring healing,” she said, but sometimes they shut out the angels’ advice. It was then I learned about a historical story how four women survived a year with hope and questions answered from four angels.  Hope was brought into a hopeless death camp.  One woman, Gitta Mallasz, became the angels’ scribe. I have ordered the book “Talking with Angels” to learn more about hope that sustained four women soon to be separated in life. Hope defines me.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb