The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

This morning, when I woke up I hugged my pillow. I lay awake in bed, savoring my blanket, and attempting to feel every inch of my smooth sheets with my fingertips.

When Tyler woke, in the wee hours of the morning, I was anxious to go to him. A tiresome chore was changed. I held his little body, memorizing his breath turning my thoughts to mothers whose children were taken from them. Mothers who spent long, lonely nights in Barracks crying to hold their sons.

Yesterday, I told Preston these stories and I cried.

Last night, as I prayed, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude. Not just for what I perceived as blessings, for everything. Grateful for the pain and trials, things that days earlier had threatened to break my heart were lifting my spirit and reminding me of the Lord’s mercy.

And now, as I type this, I remember the five Bible’s that lay on assorted shelves throughout my home and I feel shame. Ashamed that women risked their lives for this gift, a gift I too often forget to read.

How can I describe a book that has changed my life? I have read countless Survivor stories from those inhumane events that took place during World War II and loved them all, and yet, this was different. While reading those pages my heart changed. I ached as I witnessed the depths of evil that man can allow himself to fall. And I rejoiced over the beauty, resilience, and power of the soul that trusts in God.

Thanks Lynsey for recommending this book…it must have passed me by in high school English too. I am kinda glad, I think I may not have appreciated it as much when I was 14.

the hiding place

this book was amazing and changed my life! i know a lot of people read it during high school english. somehow that class passed me by, i ended up having to read lord of the flies 3 times! whatever. anyway, this book takes place in denmark, in the 1940's during the rule of the nazis. it is the true story of corrie ten boom and she is the narrator throughout the book.

corrie is a 30 something lady living with her father and sister, betsie, who runs the home and helps with the watch shop that is connected to their house. as the nazis continue to harm corrie's fellow villagers and they begin to "disappear" suspiciously, corrie finds herself helping jewish friends and eventually hiding them in a secret room in their home. she is set up and turned in, along with the rest of her family. after solitary confinement and continual mistreatment, she and betsie eventually end up in a german concentration camp for women.

what amazed me was betsie's outlook on life. she continued to be grateful for all of the small blessings that were in her life and share her love of God and the bible with others to give them hope to keep going and survive the nightmare they were in. there was one specific incident was when betsie prayed for the "bedbugs" that were driving them insane. corrie couldn't believe that she had done this and basically thought her sister had lost her mind. well a few days later, while all the women were gathered around the "forbidden" bible, a guard was going to come in and they were going to get in trouble. guess what stopped her from coming in? the bed bugs! corrie was amazed at her betsie's faith and soon her outlook began to match her sister's.

the fact that corrie survived this horrible ordeal and then began to travel around speaking about faith, blessings and the pure love of God inspired me. she and her sister were such an example to me and made me re-evaluate the blessings in my life.

the first 1/3 of the book is pretty slow but overall i absolutely loved it. i would recommend it to anyone!!