Mitigon the Mighty and Sira the Strong

My wonderful husband just finished a mini-renovation of my home office as a Christmas gift to me. In the sorting and reorganizing of my office things, I came across a Christmas gift he created for me 13 years ago.

In 1995 we were living in Croatia and awaiting the birth of Boy 1. Through circumstances beyond our control we had moved only two weeks before Christmas into another apartment, yet Mark still found time to create a timeless gift...a book, a love story just for me.

It is titled Mitigon the Mighty and Sira the Strong: A True-Love Tale for Christine Parker. Not only did he write this original three chapter short story, but he turned it into a lovingly adorned book which he bound himself.

The tale is the story of a king and queen of neighboring kingdoms who are brought together through the suffering of her people and their shared love and service for all people and for God. Mitigon was called Mighty because he was so full of love that his subjects could think of no better word to describe him. Sira's people called her Strong because she was "the kindest, most generous person in the kingdom."

As the story progresses, the two marry and ultimately sacrifice themselves and a life happy ever after in mitigating the suffering of Sira's people. When Sira offers the last drops of water in her drought-ruined land to a dying child, she dies in the boy's stead. Mitigon discovers the final sacrifice of his beloved upon his return from his own kingdom with water and other supplies for Sira's people.

Both kingdoms mourn the loss of Sira the Strong such that their tears flood the plains and high places of her kingdom and the drought is relieved as, "In the midst of grief, God made flowers bloom once again."

Mitigon, weeping over his bride and lovingly caressing her cheek, feels the warmth slowly passing back into her lifeless form. "Once again," the tale tells, "God had turned tears of sorrow into tears of joy."

At the point in our life together when Mark wrote me this story, God had already turned sorrow into tears many times. He had made us witness to His working of sadness to joy in the lives of countless others. And he had allowed us every time to return to the warmth of each other's might and strength.

Now, 13 years later, this story is more real than I could ever have imagined. I thank my God daily for my Mitigon the Mighty.