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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Book Review: The Hiding Place

The Hiding PlaceThe Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's probably been almost 20 years since I first read this gem, and it remains one of the most powerful accounts of transformative, gospel-centred love I have ever encountered. Corrie's life is a testament to how the light of Christ really can and does penetrate even the deepest darkness. The wisdom found here has been formative in my own life and walk with God. One of my "desert island" books, so I give this beautiful memoir my highest recommendation. 5 shining stars!

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Favourite Quotes:

“We commented to Corrie about the practicalness of the things she recalled, how her memories seemed to throw a spotlight on problems and decisions we faced here and now. 'But,' she said, 'this is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future that only He can see.'”  -p.12 (Preface)


"And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, 'Father, what is sexsin?'  He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor.  'Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?' he said.  I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.  'It's too heavy,' I said.  'Yes,' he said. 'And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.'  And I was satisfied. More than satisfied -- wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions -- for now I was content to leave them in my father's keeping." -p.42

“Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way.” -p.60

“Mama's love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street-- and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in. ” -p.64


“There are no 'if's' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety - Oh Corrie, let us pray that we may always know it!” -p.84

“My job was simply to follow His leading one step at a time, holding every decision up to Him in prayer.” -p.99

“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.” -p.248


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