Charles de Gaulle was a famous French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II. He became President of France after the war.
Many people do not know that Charles and Evonne de Gaulle were the parents of a very mentally handicapped child. She was a treasure and a great concern to them both.
No matter how bad things were in France, Charles would always make time for he and Evonne to have time with their daughter. Almost every night after they had put her to bed, Evonne would ask, “Charles, why couldn’t she have been like all the other children?”
As predicted, the little girl died in her youth. There was a private graveside service. After the priest had pronounced the benediction, everyone began to leave, everyone except Evonne.
Charles went back to her and said, “Come, Evonne. Did you not hear the blessing of the priest? Now she is like all the others.” That is the promise and the power of resurrection!
Thanks to Brett Blair for sharing
This story quietly reveals a truth deeper than history or heroism. Charles de Gaulle is remembered for leading a nation, but here we glimpse him leading with love, patience, and faith in the midst of private sorrow. De Gaulle is the kind of President a country must have today to survive.
The question Evonne asks — why couldn’t she have been like the others? — is a question many parents, spouses, and caregivers have whispered through tears. It is the aching cry of love that wants wholeness for someone cherished.
De Gaulle’s final words at the graveside do not deny grief. They transform it. They are not a statement of loss, but of hope. In the promise of the resurrection, every limitation is healed, every injustice made right, every wound restored.
What the world could not fix, God completes. This is the quiet power of Christian hope: not that suffering never comes, but that suffering does not have the last word. Resurrection speaks the final sentence — and it is one of love fulfilled.
When was the last time YOU asked: “Why couldn’t he or she been like all the others?”
GOD GIVES US DIFFICULTIES TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN US!!
You certainly know someone who keeps asking “Why?” like Evonne de Gaulle. Do share Charles de Gaulle’s response to his wife. Do listen to my Podcast and please share it.
