Long ago in the land of Greece, King Menelaus awoke to find that his wife, the beautiful queen Helen, was gone. It was not long until a servant rushed into his chamber with news of the princess Helen. This news rapidly depleted any calmness that the king might have had minutes ago. Secretly, the princess had boarded a ship with the Prince of Troy at midnight, and had been seen by one of the king’s servants. Some time before, the young prince, had come to the palace saying he was passing through and had heard of Menelaus’ hospitality. Now Menelaus knew the real reason he had come -- to view the renowned beauty of his wife Helen. Seeing that he was young and handsome, Helen had become enchanted with the Trojan and together they fled for Troy. Menelaus quickly jumped into action. He summoned his brother, the High King, and all the great men of Greece and sailed to Troy. They surrounded the city. They plotted its destruction. They waited for victory.
For ten long years, the Greeks waited. There were countless attempts to get through Troy’s walls. Each time they failed. Finally, Odysseus, one of the Greek leaders, had an ingenious idea. If his plan worked, they would have Helen back within a few days and the ten years of waiting would not have been in vain. He suggested that they cut 50 tall trees to build a wall to hide their work. Then he ordered a colossal, hollow, wooden horse made on wheels. A couple nights later Odysseus took 30 men and silently crept inside the wooden horse. The rest of the Greek soldiers sailed to a nearby Island and prepared for the battle. Hiding in the shadows, a Greek warrior awaited the time to give the signal to the ships.
When the Trojans arose the next morning, there was a grand celebration. The Greeks had surrendered! It was all very baffling. For ten years, the Greeks had persevered. Then, miraculously and mysteriously, they just packed their bags and sailed away! They left a great wooden horse with a message that said, “For their return home the Greeks offer this to the goddess Athena.” With great shouts of joy, the Trojans wheeled the horse into the city and feasted. From her terrace in the palace, Helen looked out of her window and cried softly, “Oh, Menelaus.” For now she regretted the scandal which she had caused and longed to be with her true husband. “What have I done!” she murmured. That night the Greeks sailed back to Troy, and Odysseus and his men crept out of the horse to open the gates. The Trojans were still celebrating and oblivious to the Greek warriors sneaking around in the shadows – not until they attacked anyway. There was a horrible battle and little by little the Trojans were driven back and the city destroyed. Helen and Menelaus happily sailed back to Greece as if nothing was between them.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Lost and Found
I was lost. My heart was as cold as the January weather outside. Sitting in front of the warm fire my father had built could not warm it. In fact, sitting in my living room, staring into the fire, and watching the orange and blue flames lick the logs, I knew with certainty for the first time that if I died as I was, I would be like those logs. Yet I would burn eternally. Repeatedly, I had listened to gospel messages teaching from the Bible that I was on the broad road leading to hell and the lake of fire.
That night, January 20, 1975, I understood for the first time that it was not a bunch of nameless faces trudging down that road. I was on that road. I needed salvation. Dread and fear triggered a flood of tears. My mother read verses to me from her Bible. One in particular stood out: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
I thought, “How simple!” God said that whoever called upon Him shall be saved. One thing my parents taught me growing up is that God’s word is trustworthy. If it’s in the Bible, it was true. I believed that with all my heart. I kneeled down in front of the couch and asked God to save my soul. In that very moment, the weight of my sin lifted, and to this day, I remember the smile that spread across my face. I knew without a doubt that God had saved me. Not because I prayed. Not because I felt happy. It was because God said. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God said it. I believed it. I was found.
That night, January 20, 1975, I understood for the first time that it was not a bunch of nameless faces trudging down that road. I was on that road. I needed salvation. Dread and fear triggered a flood of tears. My mother read verses to me from her Bible. One in particular stood out: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
I thought, “How simple!” God said that whoever called upon Him shall be saved. One thing my parents taught me growing up is that God’s word is trustworthy. If it’s in the Bible, it was true. I believed that with all my heart. I kneeled down in front of the couch and asked God to save my soul. In that very moment, the weight of my sin lifted, and to this day, I remember the smile that spread across my face. I knew without a doubt that God had saved me. Not because I prayed. Not because I felt happy. It was because God said. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God said it. I believed it. I was found.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Day After Thanksgiving!
Our special day included making homemade donuts. After trimming the tree, we huddled in front of the fireplace sipping hot-mulled cider and feasting on warm donuts while listening to Christmas music. As always, it proved to be a cozy day.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Proud Penguins by Kevin
God made penguins to catch their prey easily from the surrounding sea life. Emperor penguins eat squid, which are very slippery and hard to grasp creatures. Penguins, however, have advantages. Their prey cannot squirm out of their mouths because they have spikes on the top of their mouth and their tongue. They also have long beaks to snap up their food. Although squid are very fast, penguins are faster and can swim at speeds of 30 mph. They can dive to depths of 1,500 feet and stay under water for over 18 minutes to catch their food such as squid, shrimp, krill, and small fish. God created these peculiar birds especially unique to catch their food.
Penguins have ferocious enemies. Sea birds hungrily devour penguin eggs before they hatch. They will also feed on unguarded or unwatched chicks. Humans are also an enemy of penguins even when we do not purposely kill them. Sometimes pollution and litter will cause harm to the penguin colony. For instance, in 1989 hundreds of birds died because a massive Argentine oil tanker accidentally spilled 170,000 gallons of gas into the ocean. In addition, tourists visit nesting grounds and penguins become disturbed and leave their nests causing many chicks never to hatch out of their eggs. There are also sea creatures such as killer whales and seals that would love to get a tasty snack like a penguin or two. The worst enemies of the penguin are the leopard seals, which are strong, muscular, swift, and powerful. They are above all the terror of the ocean for the penguin. Sometimes a leopard seal follows a penguin’s shadow as it walks along the ice. Smashing through the ice, the seal will grab the penguin before it knows what happened. Although penguins have fierce enemies, they can swim up to 30 mph if they need to escape their predators.
Mother and father penguins care for their babies. Both males and females spend months feeding at the ocean because they will not eat for a long time to come. Once they dine, they head back to their nesting ground where they will choose a mate and the females will lay the egg. The mother penguin keeps the egg in a tuft of fur hanging down from the bottom of her stomach to her feet. This extra flap of fur protects the egg and the chick from the cold, freezing winter. Carefully, the mother trades the egg to the father penguin. Sometimes they are too eager and will let the egg stay out too long or will lose it. Others who are patient will trade the egg successfully. After the trading, the mother will return to the sea to feed. The father now has the egg and he and all the other male penguins stay in a huge huddle to keep warm. They will have to endure one of the toughest ordeals in the world: the Antarctic winter. The father penguins will suffer for one speck of life inside a tiny shell. The temperature can reach 100 degrees below freezing, the winds around them can reach a speed of 150 mph, and snow can fall several feet per day. Yet the father perseveres for the egg. When the egg hatches, the mother returns and regurgitates partially digested food into the chick’s mouth. The father returns to the sea to feed after two months of not eating. The penguin parents are proud of their chick, which they have both brought into the world.
Penguins have ferocious enemies. Sea birds hungrily devour penguin eggs before they hatch. They will also feed on unguarded or unwatched chicks. Humans are also an enemy of penguins even when we do not purposely kill them. Sometimes pollution and litter will cause harm to the penguin colony. For instance, in 1989 hundreds of birds died because a massive Argentine oil tanker accidentally spilled 170,000 gallons of gas into the ocean. In addition, tourists visit nesting grounds and penguins become disturbed and leave their nests causing many chicks never to hatch out of their eggs. There are also sea creatures such as killer whales and seals that would love to get a tasty snack like a penguin or two. The worst enemies of the penguin are the leopard seals, which are strong, muscular, swift, and powerful. They are above all the terror of the ocean for the penguin. Sometimes a leopard seal follows a penguin’s shadow as it walks along the ice. Smashing through the ice, the seal will grab the penguin before it knows what happened. Although penguins have fierce enemies, they can swim up to 30 mph if they need to escape their predators.
Mother and father penguins care for their babies. Both males and females spend months feeding at the ocean because they will not eat for a long time to come. Once they dine, they head back to their nesting ground where they will choose a mate and the females will lay the egg. The mother penguin keeps the egg in a tuft of fur hanging down from the bottom of her stomach to her feet. This extra flap of fur protects the egg and the chick from the cold, freezing winter. Carefully, the mother trades the egg to the father penguin. Sometimes they are too eager and will let the egg stay out too long or will lose it. Others who are patient will trade the egg successfully. After the trading, the mother will return to the sea to feed. The father now has the egg and he and all the other male penguins stay in a huge huddle to keep warm. They will have to endure one of the toughest ordeals in the world: the Antarctic winter. The father penguins will suffer for one speck of life inside a tiny shell. The temperature can reach 100 degrees below freezing, the winds around them can reach a speed of 150 mph, and snow can fall several feet per day. Yet the father perseveres for the egg. When the egg hatches, the mother returns and regurgitates partially digested food into the chick’s mouth. The father returns to the sea to feed after two months of not eating. The penguin parents are proud of their chick, which they have both brought into the world.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Simply Spectacular by Haley
Did you know that a blue whale’s spout can reach up to 30 feet high in the air? A killer whale’s fin alone can stand to six feet tall! Whales are called cetaceans (see tay’ shuhns) because they come from Kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, and finally order Cetacea. Cetaceans are split into two groups: toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales obviously have teeth and baleen whales have brushes like a giant toothbrush. It is fascinating that cetaceans protect each other from their human enemies, have a built-in sonar detector, and migrate thousands of miles to give birth to their young.
In the 18th and 19th centuries whaling was a popular but dangerous job. Whales were hunted for their blubber and a substance inside of them that made oil for lamps and extremely expensive perfume. It was a risky job, but it was also high-paying. Those who were willing to take the risk paddled small boats out to sea and attached harpoons to ropes which were then fastened to the boats. Having learned their migration routes, the whalers sat there, watching and waiting for a whale to surface to breath. Although sperm and right whales were the whaler’s favorite catches, gray whales were a fine catch too, yet very fierce. They were so ferocious that the whalers trembled with fear when they found one. Whales are very loyal and protective over each other and, when found, they would give a warning cry that could be heard for miles around to keep other whales away from that area. If a whale had its young with her, it would fight to the death to protect its calf. After a while the poor whale, hurt and exhausted, would give up to its enemies. Today, there are conservation laws against whaling, but, sadly, the damage has already been done and many species of whales are in danger of extinction.
Toothed whales have a system, called echolocation, for navigation and hunting. A special sound sent out by the melon, a rounded structure in the forehead, hits something and bounces back to the whale. The whale can tell if prey or predators are up ahead. Also, whales can tell the size, shape, and the location of the object. They can tell how far off the shore is or how deep the ocean is in a particular spot. Jacques Yves Cousteau discovered this when he was sailing on the best course through the Strait of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises tailing his ship. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea. He changed course a few degrees, and the porpoises pursued him for a couple minutes but then turned back to the better course. Cousteau thus concluded that toothed whales had a sort of sonar system. We now know this to be their extraordinary system of echolocation.
Whales migrate to warmer waters in the winter to have their babies. Since there will be no food in the warmer waters, the mother whale gorges on food all summer long, storing up blubber that she will live off in the winter. Journeying with the herd of whales, the pregnant mother sacrificially denies herself her own blubber and eats only when she absolutely has to, because she knows that soon she will have her calf nursing off of her. When she finally arrives and her young is born, she immediately helps it up to the surface to breath. The mother’s milk glands are in a little spot near the tail where the calf latches on and hitches a ride. Whales are truly great mothers. The young does not usually leave its mother for years after its birth, therefore, the two get very attached to each other. She teaches her calf to hunt and fight and to be a great whale. Soon they must make the long and dangerous journey back home with the herd of whales. The mother, who is now growing weak from her calf feeding off of her, may fall behind which is very dangerous. Killer whales are just waiting for a chance like this. The calf, adding to his mother’s fatigue, will presently get tired and piggyback on his mother’s back. Finally, when they return to cool waters the mother whale eats and is now able to protect her young.
In the end, we can clearly see that whales are amazing creatures. Unfortunately, in the 1700’s and 1800’s whales were hunted almost to extinction until conservation laws protecting whales were established. We can thank Thomas Edison for inventing the light bulb so that oil lamps are no longer needed! The toothed whales’ echolocation system, enabling them to know the exact size and shape of something even if they can’t see it, is truly astonishing. However, the most remarkable feature of all is the mother whale’s love for her young, sacrificing everything for her calf even if it means her life. Surely, cetaceans are simply spectacular in every way.
In the 18th and 19th centuries whaling was a popular but dangerous job. Whales were hunted for their blubber and a substance inside of them that made oil for lamps and extremely expensive perfume. It was a risky job, but it was also high-paying. Those who were willing to take the risk paddled small boats out to sea and attached harpoons to ropes which were then fastened to the boats. Having learned their migration routes, the whalers sat there, watching and waiting for a whale to surface to breath. Although sperm and right whales were the whaler’s favorite catches, gray whales were a fine catch too, yet very fierce. They were so ferocious that the whalers trembled with fear when they found one. Whales are very loyal and protective over each other and, when found, they would give a warning cry that could be heard for miles around to keep other whales away from that area. If a whale had its young with her, it would fight to the death to protect its calf. After a while the poor whale, hurt and exhausted, would give up to its enemies. Today, there are conservation laws against whaling, but, sadly, the damage has already been done and many species of whales are in danger of extinction.
Toothed whales have a system, called echolocation, for navigation and hunting. A special sound sent out by the melon, a rounded structure in the forehead, hits something and bounces back to the whale. The whale can tell if prey or predators are up ahead. Also, whales can tell the size, shape, and the location of the object. They can tell how far off the shore is or how deep the ocean is in a particular spot. Jacques Yves Cousteau discovered this when he was sailing on the best course through the Strait of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises tailing his ship. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea. He changed course a few degrees, and the porpoises pursued him for a couple minutes but then turned back to the better course. Cousteau thus concluded that toothed whales had a sort of sonar system. We now know this to be their extraordinary system of echolocation.
Whales migrate to warmer waters in the winter to have their babies. Since there will be no food in the warmer waters, the mother whale gorges on food all summer long, storing up blubber that she will live off in the winter. Journeying with the herd of whales, the pregnant mother sacrificially denies herself her own blubber and eats only when she absolutely has to, because she knows that soon she will have her calf nursing off of her. When she finally arrives and her young is born, she immediately helps it up to the surface to breath. The mother’s milk glands are in a little spot near the tail where the calf latches on and hitches a ride. Whales are truly great mothers. The young does not usually leave its mother for years after its birth, therefore, the two get very attached to each other. She teaches her calf to hunt and fight and to be a great whale. Soon they must make the long and dangerous journey back home with the herd of whales. The mother, who is now growing weak from her calf feeding off of her, may fall behind which is very dangerous. Killer whales are just waiting for a chance like this. The calf, adding to his mother’s fatigue, will presently get tired and piggyback on his mother’s back. Finally, when they return to cool waters the mother whale eats and is now able to protect her young.
In the end, we can clearly see that whales are amazing creatures. Unfortunately, in the 1700’s and 1800’s whales were hunted almost to extinction until conservation laws protecting whales were established. We can thank Thomas Edison for inventing the light bulb so that oil lamps are no longer needed! The toothed whales’ echolocation system, enabling them to know the exact size and shape of something even if they can’t see it, is truly astonishing. However, the most remarkable feature of all is the mother whale’s love for her young, sacrificing everything for her calf even if it means her life. Surely, cetaceans are simply spectacular in every way.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
One Thing is Needful
Luke 10:41-42, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful (anxious) and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
The Lord impressed this scripture upon my heart this week. I am always trying to focus on too many things and, thus, many things get done but not very well. I have to prepare for a school lesson, be caught up in my reading, spend time with the Lord, clean my house, spend time with my family, wash clothes, spend time helping the kids through their lessons, empty the dishwasher, exercise, prepare dinner, prepare a Sunday School lesson......deep intake of breath. There is just not.enough.time.in.a.day. Yet recently He used this scripture to remind me that only one thing is needful. Not two things or many things. One thing. What was Mary doing? Sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus listening to His words. It is amazing that when you focus on that one thing, all the other things seem to get accomplished and accomplished well. Then yesterday virtually nothing got done--but no worries. I did the one thing that was needful. He will take care of it.
The Lord impressed this scripture upon my heart this week. I am always trying to focus on too many things and, thus, many things get done but not very well. I have to prepare for a school lesson, be caught up in my reading, spend time with the Lord, clean my house, spend time with my family, wash clothes, spend time helping the kids through their lessons, empty the dishwasher, exercise, prepare dinner, prepare a Sunday School lesson......deep intake of breath. There is just not.enough.time.in.a.day. Yet recently He used this scripture to remind me that only one thing is needful. Not two things or many things. One thing. What was Mary doing? Sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus listening to His words. It is amazing that when you focus on that one thing, all the other things seem to get accomplished and accomplished well. Then yesterday virtually nothing got done--but no worries. I did the one thing that was needful. He will take care of it.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Lion and the Mouse, retold by Kevin
Once upon a time in a land far, far away in some savage place like South Africa (no one can be sure), where the king of the beasts ruled, a little mouse pitter-pattered through the forest. As the little mouse was dreamily walking along and thinking about the luxurious feast of cheese he would dine on with his fellow mice that day, he stumbled right over a sleeping lion. As he picked himself up, he said, “What a flea-brained thing to do! If the great lion wakes up and finds out what a scrape I’ve gotten myself into, I’ll be mincemeat for sure….Oh, no!” Just then a huge shadow loomed over him. He started to run blind with terror, and worse, he felt himself being pulled backwards. He flexed his claws and sank them into the ground. When he looked down at his paws, he saw his claws only digging up dirt and grass. “Oh, please, Your Majesty,” the mouse squeaked, “if you let me go, I might be able to help you in the future.” The lion roared with laughter, while the mouse sank back with fear and anxiety. The lion rolled over and said still chuckling, “My dear little one, you amuse me so much that I will let you go. If this ever happens again…well, I won’t get into details, but believe me, you will regret it!” While the mouse joyfully scampered off, the lion let out a huge yawn and went back to sleep. Then he was again rudely awakened. This time by hunters! Even though he writhed with anger and thrashed about, he could not escape from the net. The hunters staked it down, and the lion was trapped. Just then the mouse ran by and noticed the lion twisting and turning under the net. He scurried over to help the lion and started to gnaw off the ropes. Snap! Snap! Snap! One by one the ropes broke. Once the lion regained his freedom, he gleefully thanked the mouse and both ran off together.
The moral of the story is small friends can prove to be great friends.
The moral of the story is small friends can prove to be great friends.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
He is Deeper Still
“There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.” This is the message of The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, a book set in Nazi occupied Holland during World War II. It is a story of God’s love conquering evil.
Corrie and her family are devout Christians who give refuge to Jews during the Nazi occupation. For years, Corrie leads an underground ring and safe house until a fellow Dutchman betrays her to the Gestapo. After a raid of their home, the Gestapo arrests the whole family along with 35 other underground workers. The Jews manage to reach the hiding place built into the wall of the Ten Boom house and, miraculously, are never discovered. Corrie’s father dies in prison ten days later, and after many months in solitary confinement, Corrie is reunited with her sister, Betsie, and both are sent to the Ravensbruck death camp in Germany.
It is at Ravensbruck that Corrie and Betsie experience a “pit so deep” and learn that their hiding place is the Lord Jesus. They trust God through it all never doubting His goodness. When Corrie witnesses the diabolical viciousness of the Nazis, she struggles with why God would allow such atrocities. She remembers a lesson her father taught her when she was young. While on a train trip together, Corrie asked him what “sexsin” was-a term she read in a poem at school. He didn’t say anything right away but turned, picked up his heavy suitcase and asked her to carry it for him. Corrie staggered under the weight, “But Father, it is too heavy for me!”
“Exactly, my child, and what kind of father would I be if I asked you to carry such a heavy burden? Some knowledge is too heavy for children as well. This knowledge I will carry for you until you are old enough to bear it.” Corrie never forgot what her father taught her that day and when she saw people brutally murdered, left to die, innocents suffering and the slaughtering of people like animals, she let her Heavenly Father bear the burden that was too heavy for her and would whisper, “Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?”
Betsie taught Corrie to thank God for all things – even fleas – and to trust that God works all things for our good. When they discovered that their new quarters were infested with fleas, Betsie suggested thanking God for them. Corrie found herself doing as Betsie said, but in her heart she knew Betsie was wrong. How could God expect them to thank Him for fleas? But Betsie was adamant. “’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.” Later, Betsie and Corrie were given an opportunity to minister to the women of the camp and hold Bible studies while knitting socks for the Germans. They seemed to have almost no supervision and were free to share the gospel and many drank in the Words of Life. They would later find out that no guard was willing to come into the barracks because of the fleas!
Throughout the horrors of the camp, Betsie especially was convinced that when they were free, they were to tell people what they had learned there. “They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.” Although Betsie does not survive Ravensbruck, Corrie is released because of a clerical error. She would later return to Ravensbruck and discover that all women in her age group were sent to the gas chambers one week later. Corrie takes Betsie’s message to all the hurting and scarred people in postwar Europe. “There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.” In the ensuing years, she opens rehabilitation homes for those who suffered in the concentration camps, a place to find healing in their own time and way. She turned her home over to NSBers, Dutchmen who collaborated with the Nazis. Corrie believed they were now suffering their own hell and needed healing too. In an extraordinary gesture of love, Corrie traveled to Germany and transformed an old concentration camp into a rehabilitation home for homeless and starving Germans in need of love.
The Hiding Place demonstrates that God’s love is deeper than any wound or any circumstance; that a Sovereign God is in control no matter what it may seem. Their story encourages us to forgive, to love and to learn from our journey. It teaches us that, no matter how deep the pit, He is deeper still.
Corrie and her family are devout Christians who give refuge to Jews during the Nazi occupation. For years, Corrie leads an underground ring and safe house until a fellow Dutchman betrays her to the Gestapo. After a raid of their home, the Gestapo arrests the whole family along with 35 other underground workers. The Jews manage to reach the hiding place built into the wall of the Ten Boom house and, miraculously, are never discovered. Corrie’s father dies in prison ten days later, and after many months in solitary confinement, Corrie is reunited with her sister, Betsie, and both are sent to the Ravensbruck death camp in Germany.
It is at Ravensbruck that Corrie and Betsie experience a “pit so deep” and learn that their hiding place is the Lord Jesus. They trust God through it all never doubting His goodness. When Corrie witnesses the diabolical viciousness of the Nazis, she struggles with why God would allow such atrocities. She remembers a lesson her father taught her when she was young. While on a train trip together, Corrie asked him what “sexsin” was-a term she read in a poem at school. He didn’t say anything right away but turned, picked up his heavy suitcase and asked her to carry it for him. Corrie staggered under the weight, “But Father, it is too heavy for me!”
“Exactly, my child, and what kind of father would I be if I asked you to carry such a heavy burden? Some knowledge is too heavy for children as well. This knowledge I will carry for you until you are old enough to bear it.” Corrie never forgot what her father taught her that day and when she saw people brutally murdered, left to die, innocents suffering and the slaughtering of people like animals, she let her Heavenly Father bear the burden that was too heavy for her and would whisper, “Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?”
Betsie taught Corrie to thank God for all things – even fleas – and to trust that God works all things for our good. When they discovered that their new quarters were infested with fleas, Betsie suggested thanking God for them. Corrie found herself doing as Betsie said, but in her heart she knew Betsie was wrong. How could God expect them to thank Him for fleas? But Betsie was adamant. “’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.” Later, Betsie and Corrie were given an opportunity to minister to the women of the camp and hold Bible studies while knitting socks for the Germans. They seemed to have almost no supervision and were free to share the gospel and many drank in the Words of Life. They would later find out that no guard was willing to come into the barracks because of the fleas!
Throughout the horrors of the camp, Betsie especially was convinced that when they were free, they were to tell people what they had learned there. “They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.” Although Betsie does not survive Ravensbruck, Corrie is released because of a clerical error. She would later return to Ravensbruck and discover that all women in her age group were sent to the gas chambers one week later. Corrie takes Betsie’s message to all the hurting and scarred people in postwar Europe. “There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.” In the ensuing years, she opens rehabilitation homes for those who suffered in the concentration camps, a place to find healing in their own time and way. She turned her home over to NSBers, Dutchmen who collaborated with the Nazis. Corrie believed they were now suffering their own hell and needed healing too. In an extraordinary gesture of love, Corrie traveled to Germany and transformed an old concentration camp into a rehabilitation home for homeless and starving Germans in need of love.
The Hiding Place demonstrates that God’s love is deeper than any wound or any circumstance; that a Sovereign God is in control no matter what it may seem. Their story encourages us to forgive, to love and to learn from our journey. It teaches us that, no matter how deep the pit, He is deeper still.
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