Janet Maher, the Palestinian wife of the former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, was sheltering with her three children and 350 others for weeks. Her husband, Hanna, was not one of those others. Two weeks before the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, he had traveled to Egypt. Once the war broke out, he had to stay there.
Along with her children, Janet spent weeks taking cover in Saint Porphyria’s Greek Orthodox Church. Bombs regularly sent the shelterers scurrying to the center of the room to avoid the fallout of broken windows and doors. They prayed; they sang; they read the Bible; they cried; they cleaned. One day, the priest found chocolate, and for a brief moment, it felt like Christmas Day.
Though Janet and her children have finally reunited with Hanna, their suffering has not ended. Janet thinks constantly about those still sheltering at the church. She tells their story and prays for the war to end. She knows there are no easy answers to be found in this horror. She also knows that the heart of God is not fear but peace, and she prays for the Lord to be a refuge for all who cry out to him.
May we join her in praying for all who are suffering in the Middle East, asking God to bring peace where none can be found.
