182- Alone but Not Alone

In 1754, there was a war between the French and the English in Canada and the Indians sided with the French. One night the Indians attacked a poor family coming from Germany while the mother and the eldest son were not home. The Indians took two girls captive. Barbara, ten years old and Regina, nine. They took Barbara and disappeared while Regina was given to an old widow who treated her very harshly.

Regina was always singing a beautiful song that she had learned from her mother:

Alone but not alone.

You are near to me in my solitude.

My Savior is always by my side.

In my sadness He gives me gladness.

I am with Him and He is with me.

Even here I cannot be without Him.

Regina was praying day and night. She found peace in reciting biblical verses. She was always hopeful and believing in God's promises.

In 1764, Regina was nineteen. One of the British troops discovered the Indian camp, attacked the camp and liberated 400 captives. The captives were taken to Carlisle. Mothers rushed to that city but it was not easy for mothers to recognize their children. Regina's mother was looking for her two daughters but she could not find them. She was crying bitterly. One of the guards asked her, “Do you remember any thing you used to do together with your children?”

She said, “Yes, we used to sing I am alone but not alone.”

She started singing this song in a loud voice. Suddenly, she saw a young lady rushing to her and singing the same song. They hugged each other and said, “We’ve been joined by love and the true promises of God and the living faith that abides in the hearts.”

The mother returned home with her daughter who had been lost for ten years. The mother was saying with Saint Paul,

“And that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures,

Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3.15).

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: وحدي أنا، لكنني لست وحدي!

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