Hiding in the Light by Rifqy Bary

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 4^th 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.”