Heroine

I was reviewing some stories from the life of one of my heroines – Corrie Ten-Boom. She and her family helped hide Jews from the Nazis in WWII until they were caught and sent to a work camp, where her sister died. She was an amazingly strong woman. She wrote an inspiring book called The Hiding Place, which is one of my all-time favorites. Anyhow, I wanted to share an experience she had, just ‘cuz I came across it today. Corrie was in love with a young man and thought her affections were mutual. One day the man came to her house to introduce the family to his new fiancé. Later as she laid in bed weeping, she recalls the following:

“Later, I heard Father’s footsteps coming up the stairs. For a moment I was a little girl again waiting for him to tuck the blankets tight. But this was a hurt that no blanket could shut out, and suddenly I was afraid of what Father would say… Of course he did not say the false, idle words.

“’Corrie,’ he began instead, ‘do you know what hurts so very much? It’s love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill the love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies, too. 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.”

-- The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten-Boom