Pamela Hoch helped start the Rachel Foundation, a ministry dedicated to reuniting parents and children who have been torn apart. People often assume that the name of the foundation has something to do with the daughter of the founder. But the Rachel Foundation begins with a promise from the Bible.
Years ago Pamela was struggling to keep her children, who had been severely alienated from her. After she carried on a prolonged and fruitless court battle, a psychologist advised her that her situation was hopeless, that she should forget about reuniting with her children, and that she should just get on with her life.
Pamela was devastated. She tried to imagine life without her children, but couldn't. Surely, she felt, God has completely abandoned me. But before giving up completely, she reached for her Bible to check in with God one more time.
"Coincidentally," the Bible fell open to Jeremiah 31:15, which reads, "A voice is heard in Ramah, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted." She tossed the Bible aside and collapsed on the floor in tears. But a quiet, insistent voice urged her to read on.
"I can't. I've had it. And anyway, I've closed the Bible and could never find those words again." But she picked herself up, let the Bible fall open again, and, incredibly, it opened to exactly the same passage. Amazed, she read on: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the Lord is pleased with the work you will do. Your children will return to their own land."
Pamela says, "As I read those words, my life and my future were transformed. At that moment I claimed those words as God's promise to me. A new energy born of hope filled my heart, and I resolved never, ever to give up on loving my children."
From that beginning, Pamela started a journey that continues to this day. She finished her court battles, winning a landmark decision and successfully reintegrating with her children. She started working with others who contacted her, having learned of her story through the media. She founded a self-help group and started offering hope to other parents who were trying to reconcile and reunite with their children.
