I know you’re
out there, you singles who are rolling your eyes at all the Valentine’s Day
sweetness. It’s a bit much, isn’t it?
Well, here's something for you. I had a bit
of a revelation lately when I began to re-read Corrie Ten Boom’s story, The Hiding Place. Corrie has been my hero since I was a teenager, but at my age I have a deeper appreciation for her awesomeness. Here’s the short version.
She was born
into a Dutch family in 1892.
She lived a blessed,
but fairly mundane life. She became the first female licensed watchmaker in Holland,
and worked for many years in her father’s shop. Many years she was also caregiving
for elderly family members.
Her nieces
tried to get her to wear shorter skirts and brighter colors, but she liked long
skirts and dark colors. (This is hilarious to me.)
She fell in
love with a guy, but then one day he showed up without warning on her doorstep
with a fiancée. Seriously, who does that?
In 1940, she
was 48 years old, living the routine. Then, the Nazis invaded her country, and
mundane life was interrupted. Her family opened their doors to their many
Jewish neighbors who were facing arrest, and in doing so, they stepped into a world
of high-suspense espionage.
One week, an architect subtly built a brick wall into Corrie's bedroom, creating a
hiding place for the Jews in case their underground operation was found out.
Unfortunately,
it was. After helping to save many lives, the Ten Boom family was betrayed and many were
arrested. In 1944, Corrie and her sister were sent to Scheveningen Prison, and
later transferred to the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany.
Her sister
Betsie died in prison, and Corrie was released on a clerical error.
She spent
the next decades of her life travelling the world, telling her story, and
sharing the love of God. She died in 1983 at the age of 91, after spending
several years silenced and disabled by strokes.
She is
remembered as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. She was an ordinary woman
with rock-solid faith that saved, blessed, and influenced countless lives all
over the globe. To this day, when you read her words or listen to her voice,
you can feel the power of God.
She kept the faith through unimaginable suffering. She took every opportunity to
give to the people in need around her. She left an example for anyone and
everyone to follow.
Her life is
proof that being unmarried doesn’t diminish your value in the world by one iota.
It doesn’t mean mundane, or unimportant. It certainly doesn’t mean you won’t
have a crucial role in the lives of others. Singleness doesn’t sentence you to
anything less than a totally amazing, world-changing, awesome life.
Maybe she didn't feel it in those days her heart was broken and rejected, but Corrie's singleness was preserving her ability to become the ministering force that she was meant to be. Regardless of how she felt about it, we can see that she wasn't being held back. She wasn't missing out. Her singleness freed her to do her purpose. Her singleness may have never felt like a gift to her, but it does to millions of other people who were blessed by it.
Hang in
there, my friends!
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