Book Review of "The Hiding Place"

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, is the ultimate story of love and forgiveness. It is the redemptive tale of an older woman and her family who become involved with the anti-Nazi underground movement to hide and secure Jewish people. Living in Holland, a neutral state, the Germans siege the country and enforce their strict regime on the citizens there.

This true story offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people capable of extraordinary measures. The Ten Boom family is an example of strong familial ties, of traditions steeped in religion and of values rooted in morality and humanity for all. Members of the family become imprisoned for work in the underground anti-Nazi movement whose goal it was to help aid the Jews from the furor of the Germans. Living their lives amidst the horrors of war, the Ten Boom family is confronted with unspeakable ills and forced to choose which side of humanity they will place themselves on. This affords the reader the opportunity to ask themselves if they would be capable of similar decisions if the times demanded it.

This moving account illustrates how one's faith may provide the moral fiber to one's character; allowing one to keep moving forward even amidst inhumane conditions, including the despair and lack of dignity of war.

Corrie's mother once told her that "Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings... It's something we make inside ourselves." This literally became her mantra as she faced insurmountable odds to achieve countless acts of humanity. An older spinster, caring for an ailing father, Corrie literally stepped outside her comfort zone, not only in achieving success in the anti-Nazi movement but in demonstrating a level of inner strength and resolve previously unbeknownst. Hers is a wonderful example of discovering your life mission in the midst of your own life.

While some may view the account as overtly optimistic and full of hope, the story certainly does not diminish the pain and suffering endured by those persecuted, including many members of the Ten Boom family, in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. What differs is that Corrie saw hope in every situation in which she found herself. She places her faith in the hand of God and realizes that with Him there are no accidents. Hers is the conviction that she is carrying forth the plan of the divine. She lives with the knowledge that defeat will come to the Germans.

Her new mission after the war is to help rehabilitate those who had suffered in the concentration camps; she even extends herself to work with those who betrayed their own countrymen. She went on speaking engagements all over the world to endorse her message of the love and peace that comes from forgiveness. Her life was a shining illustration of her belief that "the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do."

This begs the questions: Are we are allowing our own past to help shape our future? Are we prepared for the work in store of us? Hopefully, the answer is "yes".