"Cord of Strength"

I am constant, I am hearty. My fathers were of the mortal kind, but I have one true and eternal Father.

The streets used to be filled with laughter and smiling faces. Now they are trampled by the feet of the unholy. They do no even deserve the dirt that graces our shoes.

There is war and chaos all around us. We are hunted down like animals and our children are slaughtered in front of us. The fields are red with our blood and birds feast on our bodies. Despair fills the air like ash, filling our eyes and throats, and choking us. These people-these savages-they do not care for us or our culture. In their eyes, we are the enemy; not even human. We are an opportunity for profit or sport.

“Beware all who enter here! Expect no mercy in this place!” This has become our mantra. We deserve it. This is our punishment for abandoning God. Every day, I must stare my starving children in the face as they ask when we are going home. I never answer this question. Instead, I tell them of our eternal home in heaven. We will have a mansion of silver, with pearly gates and streets paved with gold. I tell them that there is no pain, no suffering, and no hunger in our future home. We will all be given beautiful crowns of gold, while our enemies will be punished with eternal fires. I tell them about our history and our culture that our enemies seem so keen on destroying. And above all, I tell them of the power and glory of our God. They must obey Him, and teach about Him, in the hopes that future generations will not make the same mistakes we did. That is the only hope I can give them.

Despite the war, despite the pain; my family survives. We are together; unbroken. No one can tear us apart as long as I take breath. For I keep us together. I am the cord that binds us together, to our people, and to our God.