Monday, July 19, 2010

The Hiding Place



I have just finished reading this amazing true story of Corrie Ten Boom. She is an inspiration to all and I have decided to get myself a copy as there are passages I want to re read and quote.

"The Hiding Place is the story of Corrie ten Boom's life as a middle-aged woman in Holland during World War II. She was an active member of the resistance, harboring Jews in her home, the Beje. Her story begins when she is a child, but quickly progresses to her adulthood. The main plot is Corrie's work helping Jews. She took them into her home, usually for a short time, and then helped them find a better hiding place. She supplied them with false papers and ration cards. Corrie worked with a group of Dutch Christians and built a network in Holland to help whoever needed help. Her older sister hid Jews as well, and her brother ran a nursing home and was able to help Corrie.
Unfortunately, the Nazis find out that Corrie is active in the resistance and she, her sister, her father and many others are arrested in a night raid (miraculously, the Jews in her home are hidden so well they aren't found and all but one live through the Occupation). Even though she is elderly, Corrie survives prison and is transported to Ravensbruck, a concentration camp, with her sister Betsie."


The title of the book is the name of the secret place where Jews and others were kept safe 
but also that in Jesus, Corrie and her sister were able to hide from the horrors around them while under arrest.
Their home the Beje, is now open for people to visit and many people have been touched by reading this story. 


I am tired today and as I was changing the sheets on our bed I felt that I just couldn't be bothered and just wanted to curl up but then I thought of what Corrie and millions of others have been through and how much they longed for a bed with clean smooth sheets. I quickly realised the privilege I have and made it.
I don't like reading and hearing about a lot of things on the holocaust but I am reminded that we must keep the horrid memories alive so it is not repeated. But even today there are still events around the world of fellow humans being barbaric to other human beings. And this has to stop. I am thankful for the privilege God has given me of living in a time and country such as here and now.

1 comment :

  1. I LOVE this book. My teens have read it also, and it touched their hearts. Even when they are not doing what they should sometimes, they still seem to talk about this book. It is so impacting. I think I will read it again. :-)

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