I don’t know why I had never read The Hiding Place, but maybe it was partly because I did not want to visit the things that went on at the hands of the Germans in WWll. When I was a kid I went with my dad to see Mein Kampf, the documentary that showed the depravity of the Holocaust. Those pictures were deeply etched in my mind. I think that is why I did not want to see Schindler’s List.
As I read of the heroism of the Ten Boom family, I was horrified again at the treatment of those considered by the Nazis as inferior. But I was buoyed by the faith of the family, especially Corrie and Betsie as they were incarcerated and mistreated. I could identify with Corrie, as she wanted to honor God but who constantly had to deal with the emotions of anger and hate for her captors. I was truly inspired by Betsie, who was more Christ-like in her dealing with the deprivation and the persecution.
I am glad I read this book, because its message was not really about creating a hiding place for Jewish refugees and an underground network to get them to safety. Its message, at least to me was that all of us need a Hiding Place as described in Psalm 32:7, “Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve from trouble…”
Subscribe to Family Fun & Faith
SRC="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js">
4 comments:
I've never read the book either, ff&f, and I am not sure why. It's one of those that I would normally have wanted to read. It sounds like a good one. I will have to read it soon (I have a copy on my shelf).
I suggest that when you have a minute, you take it down and read a few pages. I think you will get into it!
I'm glad I read this book, too, and invited my teenage daughter to read it with me. It is a perspective on the Holocaust that not only highlights the horrors of our history but does so in a way that heals with hope. I love your expression about Corrie who "had to deal with the emotions of anger and hate for her captors." I found her honesty about her feelings to be refreshing and real as she confronted those feelings and then strived to replace them with love and forgiveness. Remember the end where she meets one of the guards? That is a beautiful explanation of how God can give us the love, itself, when we have none to feel or give.
I was surprised by how encouraging Corrie's story is. For such a terrible event in our history, she portrayed it through her faith, and that put such a different spin on it.
I'm glad you have discovered some new reads--and enjoyed them. I'll post about next month's selection soon.
Post a Comment