I was reading a book this summer about the Presbyterian medical missionary Nelson Bell (his daughter Ruth married Billy Graham). Nelson and Virginia Bell were missionaries to China in the 1920’s through 1940’s. They had to return to the U.S. due to the Communist takeover. China at that time was completely barbaric, overrun by rival warlords and chaotic conditions. This type of atrocity happened often in addition to other cruel everyday occurences (leaving babies to die along the rivers, evil superstitions and other atrocities). I know what you mean, for those of us who had a “Leave it to Beaver” life, it is hard to connect that this type of evil godless barbarism is now so close to home. It has been in the rest of the non-Christian world all along though, we’ve just been very protected from it here in the U.S. for a very long time. Psalm 46
In some ways, having a comfortable youth and early adulthood is not a good thing. One of my favorite books, Gone with the Wind, makes this point over and over again. Scarlett O’Hara can never get over her indulgent childhood and the horrible world she inherits as a young woman.
I admire Ruth Graham endlessly. You know the story of the bestselling mystery writer (her name escapes me!) whose mother left her on the doorstep of the Graham home in the 1950s? Ruth was having a luncheon, discovered the toddler on her front porch, took her in and continued with the lunch. She eventually raised the girl to adulthood. The writer is VERY famous but her name escapes me. She’s written the bio of Ruth Graham. What a woman!