Editorial: ‘Cradled in freefall’
Regardless of how Christians feel about Kayla Mueller, we must acknowledge that her final words gave voice to the condition of all humankind.
We didn’t know Kayla Mueller.
Kayla Mueller
A portion of Kayla Mueller’s handwritten letter to her family (PHOTO PROVIDED)
Neither did the pundits and bloggers who have said plenty — and nothing — about the 26-year-old aid worker who died in Syria as a captive of the Islamic State.
Kayla MuellerSome call her altruistic and noble, a fighter for the oppressed. Others brand her as anti-Israel, a supporter of terrorists. U.S. officials believe she was forced to convert to Islam and marry an Islamic State leader, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The little we know about this young woman — in her own words — comes from a letter she wrote in captivity to her parents, which they released recently to news media. In it, she tells them that the greatest suffering she’s endured is “knowing how much suffering I have put you all through.”
For that, “I do not deserve forgiveness,” she writes. “I remember mom always telling me that … in the end the only one you really have is God.
Lament with us for the terrible loss of this soul — a soul that, in the direst of situations, gave voice to the condition of all humankind.
“I have come to a place in experience where … I have surrendered myself to our creator because, literally, there was no else,” Mueller writes to her parents. “By God, by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.”
We pray for the persecuted and the persecutors.
May we all realize the need to surrender to God and live for his Son — while there’s still time.
A portion of Kayla Mueller’s handwritten letter to her family (PHOTO PROVIDED)A transcription of the letter follows:
Everyone, If you are receiving this letter it means I am still detained but my cell mates (starting from 11/2/2014) have been released. I have asked them to contact you + send you this letter. It’s hard to know what to say. Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy (put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/ the utmost respect + kindness.I wanted to write you all a well thought out letter (but I didn’t know if my cell mates would be leaving in the coming days or the coming months restricting my time but primarily) I could only but write the letter a paragraph at a time, just the thought of you all sends me into a fit of tears.If you could say I have “suffered” at all throughout this whole experience it is only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all through; I will never ask you to forgive me as I do not deserve forgiveness.I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator b/c literally there was no else…. + by God + by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it. I pray each each day that if nothing else, you have felt a certain closeness + surrender to God as well + have formed a bond of love + support amongst one another…I miss you all as if it has been a decade of forced separation. I have had many a long hour to think, to think of all the things I will do w/ Lex, our first family camping trip, the first meeting @ the airport. I have had many hours to think how only in your absence have I finally @ 25 years old come to realize your place in my life. The gift that is each one of you + the person I could + could not be if you were not a part of my life, my family, my support.I DO NOT want the negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any other option take it, even if it takes more time. This should never have become your burden. I have asked these women to support you; please seek their advice. If you have not done so already, [REDACTED] can contact [REDACTED] who may have a certain level of experience with these people.None of us could have known it would be this long but know I am also fighting from my side in the ways I am able + I have a lot of fight left inside of me. I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes. I wrote a song some months ago that says, “The part of me that pains the most also gets me out of bed, w/out your hope there would be nothing left…” aka-­-The thought of your pain is the source of my own, simultaneously the hope of our reunion is the source of my strength.Please be patient, give your pain to God. I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray as will I + by God’s will we will be together soon.All my everything, Kayla
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