The Hiding Place

My Bible study group has decided to read this book for our summer study.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boon

Those who know me well, know that I am NOT a reader. (The question I get the most is, "What?! You're a teacher and you don't like to read?!) It normally takes about a year for me to finish a book - not kidding - or most of the time, I don't even finish it at all. So, when I found out we were going to be reading this book, I went ahead and bought it so that I could get a jump start on it - and maybe, just maybe, I would be finished with at least chapter 1 by the time summer comes around! But alas! The book was so good that I finished reading it in 2 WEEKS! I couldn't put it down! What was my motivation? I don't know. Maybe it was because this book was an account of real events, not like the regular fiction books that I've tried to read in the past. Anyway, this lady's faith in Christ through her whole ordeal during the Holocaust is amazing. The entire time, Corrie gave God credit and saw her trials as a path to reach others for Christ. Some of my favorite quotes from the book are:

1. "I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do."
2. Young Corrie asked her father a question about sex. To answer her, he used the analogy of carrying her luggage for her from the train station because it is too heavy. He said, "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."
3. Corrie's aunt is diagnosed with TB and is sad about leaving her trinkets behind when she dies. But she prays, "Dear Jesus, I thank You that we must come with empty hands. I thank You that You have done all - all - on the Cross, and that all we need in life or death is to be sure of this."
4. After Corrie learns that the guy she's crushing on can't marry her because of her status, her heart is broken. Her father tells her, "There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill the love so that it stops hurting...Or, Corrie, we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel....Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way."
5. Corrie has a difficult time seeing the good in the conditions of the concentration camps. As she reads her Bible to her sister, she comes across a verse in 1 Thessalonians, "...but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus - ". And then Betsie told Corrie, "Give thanks in all circumstances, ...It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances'.

There are so many other great insights that Corrie shares in this book, but I don't want to spoil it completely for those who haven't read it.

If you haven't read it, you may want to try it out. I promise you won't be disappointed.