As I have been out of commission regarding internet connection and capabilities, I have been reading more than I normally do. (Carrie, I know you can hardly comprehend that there would be MORE reading than usual but alas, there has been more.) I love reading and how it allows to you to visualize for yourself the way stories, timelines, characters, scenes play out. I think movies have made us somewhat lazy and stolen much of our individual imagination, especially as children. Reading opens up a whole new world and allows you to move at your own pace, mulling over the nuances that the author infers and the word choices which turn "a flower garden" into "a space tucked away behind a potter's cottage carpeted with jewel tones of jade, amythest and crimson buoyed with fragrances of lilacs, roses, and freesias alerting winter that spring is here."
It can also elaborate on "bad circumstances" as being one characterized by phrases like "eight acrid and overflowing toilets", "lice-bitten skin", "bedding was soiled and rancid", "someone's elbow dug into my back, another women's feet were two inches from my face"... and that is about all I need to hear to get the intensity of the bad circumstances.
In a previous post about one of my favorite books, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, a friend of mine made a comment on here about her favorite book, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It brought back memories of my mom telling me how she used to just love that book and how she encouraged me to read it from the time I was in elementary school. I always put her off telling her I didn't want to read about a watchmaker's daughter. Over the years, she has asked from time to time if I had ever read that book. Until last week, I had always answered "no."
Oh, how I wish I had NOT waited until now to read that beautiful book....
The trials and "bad circumstances" Corrie and her sister, Betsie, had to endure during the German occupation of Holland in the 1940's have lived on in the pages of this autobiography to serve as a poignant perspective in the face of suffering. The courage they demonstrated and the awful, disturbing things they had to endure over a period of several years are both at levels almost incomprehensible to many, especially to me.
I live a sheltered life.
They did not.
I complain.
They did not.
I take things for granted.
They did not.
I forget about Jesus.
They did not.
They lived harmony.
I do not.
They had bravery.
I do not.
They lived with thankfulness in all circumstances.
I do not.
They trusted God at all times, in all things, for all reasons great and small.
I do not.
I am altering my post about far and away my favorite book being Redeeming Love. This book, The Hiding Place, is every bit as compelling and impactful. The testimony of God's provision is awe-inspiring. He is in every detail of every life and our very present Help in time of trouble.
If you have this book on your shelf and not taken the time to read it... do it. If you have not taken the time to go out and purchase this book... do it. If you have never heard of this book and need to find additional references and recommendations... do it. If you need to see if it is on an audiobook... do it.
I will not request my daughter read this book. I will insist upon it and hopefully we can read it together as I know I will be looking forward to the time I can re-read this book... over and over again.
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