OPINION:
And Americans think the upcoming elections are the big concerns of the day.
For nearly two years, nearly two very long years, Pastor Andrew Brunson suffered a sad and dark imprisonment in harsh Turkish conditions, saying daily prayers to God as a means of reminding himself he wasn’t abandoned, he wasn’t alone, that all would eventually work toward the good of a higher power.
Much can be learned from Brunson — most notably, perspective. Are you listening, antifa-type left?
“It was a very difficult time,” the pastor said during an interview on Fox News, in which he described his cell as fitted for eight, but crammed with 21. “I was isolated by culture and by language but especially by religion. It was very difficult to be the only Christian among them.”
His ordeal is tough to imagine.
Brunson had pastored a small congregation in Turkey at the Izmir Resurrection Church, when he was accused of terrorism and of trying to overthrow the government. He was arrested in late 2016 and jailed and told that his charges could bring him up to 35 years behind bars. Gulp.
His hope faltered a bit, particularly the first year, but never completely caved. And happily, thanks in large part to the foreign policy chops of this present White House administration, he was finally released and sent back home to the United States on Friday — albeit with a (ridiculous) conviction for terrorism.
His story reminds of the greatness of God, the pettiness of politics.
“One of the most important things that someone told me was … just hang on to God,” Brunson said, during a “Fox & Friends” interview, The Hill reported. “It’s one of the things I did consistently. I kept talking to God, talking to God, whether he talked to me or not.”
That, and weekly visits from his wife, Norine, “got me through that time,” he said.
And one of his first acts, post-arrival in the United States? He prayed with the president, for the president, in the president’s own Oval Office. Wait for it, wait for it. No doubt, there’s some atheist-minded leftist just chomping at the bit to scream about the Christian prayer in the government office. Oh well, what’s done is done.
Brunson said he asked God to give Trump “supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him,” for “wisdom in how to lead this country into righteousness,” for “perseverance, and endurance and courage to stand for truth,” for protection “from slander from enemies, from those who would undermine,” and for the path to become “a great blessing to this country.”
Great prayer. Humbling prayer. Meanwhile, back on the farm, Americans of all political parties are fighting over the next midterms — and particularly, Americans who lean left are fighting viciously to tread over any shred of conservatism that dares rear its head in the public arena.
All within the last few days: “NYPD Releases Video of Antifa Attack at Republican Club,” blared one Breitbart headline. “Political violence goes coast to coast as Proud Boys and antifa activists clash in New York, Portland,” blasted one Washington Post headline. “Antifa attacks GOP headquarters in NYC,” screamed one Fox Business headline.
Come on now.
Brunson can go through two years of imprisonment for a crime he didn’t commit and still maintain peace toward mankind — but the left can’t even calm itself to indulge any Republican views?
Brunson said that in the midst of his ordeal, during confinement and separation from his family, he could still “see there was value in my suffering, especially as time went on.”
That’s because his perspective is on the above, not the worldly. And that’s a message we can all pay a bit more attention to — a memo we should all take in these politically hot times. But maybe those in the Democratic Party, those on the left, need to pay attention just a little bit more.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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