Corrie Ten Boom

The SALT challenge this week has been Inspiring Christian Women. I immediately thought of Corrie Ten Boom, because I had a stamp quote of hers! I never ended up using the quote stamp (though the quotes here are just a few of her many excellent ones), but I had a great afternoon reading up on Corrie (and following all the links!) It has been quite a few years since I read her story or watched the movie, The Hiding Place. She had greatly inspired me as a young person; I was very fascinated by anything to do with WWII, especially the European end of things. I devoured books having to do with it all, primarily historical fiction, always my favorite way to learn history, providing the author cares about getting details correct.

I think the only time I play with collage is when there is a SALT challenge; it just does not come naturally to me. Since I am so busy, it takes a real push for me to try it. I love looking at other people's collage, but when I try doing it, it just seems like making a mess. Since that reflects my housekeeping, that shouldn't be a problem, lol, but it is! The first try seemed to full of bare patches, the second try is too cluttery. But, I have used up a huge chunk of my day, so I'm not going to work on it any longer. I'm so glad I did it, though, I'm feeling spiritually, if not artistically, very inspired! ;-)

While I have linked a jumping off site for anyone to click on, I did want to put here the context of the sentence on the hand (which came from a site I forgot to bookmark):

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.


I hope you'll take some time to explore this amazing woman's life...