“That’s it. We’re done for now,” Pieter said at last. He gave a satisfied sigh and blew out the candle, plunging them into darkness. They needed both hands to descend the steep wooden ladders. He closed the door to the outside behind them and took Lena’s hand in his. He had worked without gloves, and his fingers were icy.

She shivered, wanting to hurry along the path to the warm farmhouse, but he pulled her to a stop. “Look up at that sky, Lena. Isn’t it beautiful?” He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her.

She took comfort from his warmth and strength as she gazed up at the midnight sky. At the moment, there were no airplanes, and she could almost imagine that the war had never happened and everything was as it used to be.

“So many stars!” she murmured. “And they say the universe goes on and on forever, without end. I can’t imagine that, can you?”

“Only an amazing God could create such a wonder.”

She remembered this evening’s news bulletin and felt a tug of fear in her stomach. “How He must grieve when He sees what we’re doing to His beautiful earth. The entire world is at war.” They stood in place for a few minutes, the great swath of the Milky Way shining like a river of starlight. “How can God remain silent and do nothing in the face of all this evil?” she asked.

“He isn’t silent as long as we’re His voice and His hands.”

“It doesn’t seem like we’re doing enough.”

“Each little thing we do to hinder the enemy is enough for now. When the Almighty needs us to do more, He’ll tell us.”

But to do more would mean putting themselves in more danger. Lena’s fear wrestled with her deep hatred for the Nazis. She longed to fight back, to get even, to free her family from their power. Yet she would be a fool not to fear them. She wished her faith was stronger, that she could trust God completely and give her fear and anger to Him. But why had He allowed the Nazis to win in the first place? She exhaled in frustration and felt Pieter’s arms tighten around her.

“What, Lena?”

“I want our life back. I want everything to be the way it used to be. I’m tired of living each day in suspense, not knowing what will happen to us tomorrow, not knowing how long we’ll be forced to live this way. Will it be forever? Will we have to live this way for the rest of our lives?”

“God knows,” he said softly.