Choosing to review Hiding
in the Light was easy because Christian books are hard to come by and this title was so intriguing. As children of the King,
Christians are to shine their light in this dark corrupt world. What a pity
Rifqy spent countless months hiding from authorities and family who wished her
harm. The title Hiding in the Light shows
her dependence on the only source of her peace, a Savior who is the Light. What
struck me with Rifqy Bary’s remarkable and detailed testimony was her complete
faithfulness to a God she was just learning trust. Her innocence was so pure
that often I feared for her personal safety. To trust someone she met on FB and
travel from Ohio to Florida was indeed blind faith and ordained by God. Struggling
to understand the tenets of Islam, I wanted to learn to be a better Christian
witness. What disturbed me more than the fear instilled by her father and the
elders of their mosque was the gross injustice she faced through the American legal
system and the disturbing treatment she suffered through the foster care system.
As I watch a fictional account on television of girls being abused by foster
parents, Rifqy’s story is far more horrifying. With human trafficking in the
news focus the last few years, it was a terrible unfairness to put the child in
prison instead of those threatening her life. To read the political maneuvers
between those trying to use her legal issues to gain popularity in the press,
made me doubt we truly live in the “land of the free.” As we celebrate the 4th
of July, I am stunned at the lack of independence afforded the true character
is this book. To accuse the rescuing pastor of kidnapping and threaten a loving
couple who gave Rifgy shelter and treated her as their own daughter, demonstrates
the loopholes and misuse of our legal system. One thing that gave me hope for
young foster children was the major role played by the guardian ad litem
program or GAL. As I write this review for the eBook given to me by Waterbrook
Press, I am going through training to work with the GAL system in my home
county. Several friends of mine have volunteered for several years with GAL to
make a difference in the lives of young children. My daughter and her family
are attending classes for becoming foster parent because of the great need of
children and the inadequate number of homes to place those at risk. I applaud
Miss Bary in her book where she shares her fight for freedom. Praises be to
Jesus the Father to the fatherless and our formidable strength in our time of
weakness. Judgment will be upon America if she does not care for those weak and
neglected children of God she has pledged to protect. “Give me your tired your
poor your huddled masses yearning to be free.”
