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It is a photograph that few are likely to forget. A little girl, her clothes seared from her body by a Napalm bomb, runs screaming from her burning village. Her arms are outstretched in terror and pain.
For many, this photograph–which would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize for AP photographer Nick Ut–epitomized the tragedy of the Vietnam war. The village of Trang Bang was damaged on June 8, 1972 during an ariel attack on suspected Viet Cong locations. Many were killed and a little girl's life was changed forever.
Though terribly burned, that little girl did survive. Nick Ut placed her in a vehicle and rushed her to the hospital. Kim endured fourteen months of painful rehabilitation for the third degree burns over more than half her body.
As an adult, Kim would be forced to abandon medical school following renewed international interest in the "symbol of the people's war." After an appeal to the head of the Vietnamese government, she was allowed to leave the country to resume her studies. Kim met her future husband while studying in Cuba, and was, by this time, determined to defect to the West. On their honeymoon in 1992, the couple disembarked during plane refueling in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and defected.
Settled in a new country with a young family, Kim's story continues. While there have been confusion and disagreement about the bombing–who ordered it, where it actually took place, what the target was–the fact that Kim became another innocent victim of war is unchangeable. Now, she uses her notoriety to speak for peace. In November 1997, Kim was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Earlier in 1997, she founded the Kim Foundation in Chicago, to help innocent victims of war.
What is perhaps most stunning about Kim Phuc is the peace that radiates from her in person. She is not angry. She is not bitter against her government or anyone else involved in the war. In fact, Kim's greatest passion is healing. In 1996, she travelled to the United States to meet Nick Ut and the doctors who had operated on her in Saigon. On Veteran's Day that same year, Kim spoke at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, DC. Her message expressed the need for healing and reconciliation for all those who'd been involved in the war.
What makes this possible? Perhaps a better question is "Who makes this possible?" And the answer is God.
Kim's gentle spirit and quiet determination are products of her relationship with a loving Heavenly Father. Kim discovered a God who could empathize with her pain, and who could heal it. Her body bears the scars of a brutal childhood experience, but her spirit is whole.
Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?
Living with hope
If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here's a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.
Is this the life for you?
If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you'll experience life to the fullest.
For more of Kim's story:
Born: Trang Bang, South Vietnam, 1963
Kim's Story: The Road to Vietnam
http://www.filmstransit.com/kimstory.html
Address At The United States Vietnam War Memorial
Veterans' Day 1996 by Kim Phuc
http://gos.sbc.edu/p/phuc.html
Napalm victim says ‘God used me that day.'
http://www.smythnews.com/980606/I-Articles/re-1.htm
Vietnam and Veteran's Day: A Child of War Forgives
http://www.vinsight.org/1996news/1113.htm
Pastor Admits Lying About Vietnam Bombing
http://www.mcjonline.com/news/98/news2344.htm