Stephen William Frank

West Point, 1998

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Elizabeth Curcio on April 29, 2006:

Stephen came into our lives when he was 7 years old. We had just moved to East Lansing, and my second grade son came home from school with Stephen as his new friend. From that time until 6th grade, when Stephen's family moved out of the school district, they had the sweetest friendship a mother could want for her child. It's true, what all the articles said about Stephen--all they did was play army, and build forts. When I did overhear their conversations, they concerned only war and battle strategy. There was something about Stephen that was truly special, and when the Franks moved away, I knew a special season in my life as a mother had come to an end. Later, when I learned from his mother that Stephen was on his way to West Point, I thought, "Of course he is." I always knew that Stephen was named for the first martyr in the Book of Acts. I started using a daily Bible reading guide several years ago, and the reading for April 29th is Acts 7. I never read those chapters on the story of Stephen without thinking about that boy. (He will always be that young grade schooler to me.) So when I learned he was killed a few days after he died, I looked back and realized I was thinking of him the very day he died. Now, as we reach the first year anniversary of his passing, and I come upon Acts 7 once again, the circumstances of Stephen's death in Iraq become a marvel to me. I have the bittersweet consolation that Stephen's passing, while tragically untimely for us, is part of God's exquisitely timed purposes. Elizabeth Curcio

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