I just finished reading the book “Flight of the Dragonfly” by Melissa Hawach. It’s the true story/autobiography of a mother whose husband (they were seperated at the time) kidnapped their two daughters and ended up taking them to Lebanon during the summer war with Israel in the summer of 2006. It was 6 months before she was actually re-united with her girls and it was two months after that that she was able to get out and get herself and the children home.
Its an incredible story. The thing that made it even more interesting is that Melissa Hawach grew up throughout Saskatchewan, finally ending up living in Saskatoon for her primary and high school years. She listed off places like Yorkton, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, and she went to high school at Bishop Mahoney. This isn’t the true story of someone who lives in some big city in the U.S. or someone in a country overseas. This is someone who lived in my city. You just don’t think things like this happen to people who live here.
It is a very good book. I would recommend it to anyone. It was heart-breaking, uplifting, and challenging. It amazes me everything this mother went through to get her children back. And it forced me to ask myself if I would have been that determined. Or would I have succumbed to defeat and given up? (not that I have any worries about dealing with a parental abduction of my kids, but there are other forms of child abduction not involving a parent). I hope I could say ‘yes’ to those questions, but I’ve come to realize that you don’t know how you will react until you’re faced with the crisis. And I also know that God prepares us for whatever comes across our path. And He knows what is coming so he is the best equipped to prepare us in advance (although we may not know we’re being prepared for whats’s to come).