Cornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom was born on April 15, 1892, in Haarlem, Netherlands. For her whole life, she was referred to as “Corrie”. She was the youngest child in the family and took the job profession of a jeweller and watchmaker. She and her family were Calvinist Christians in a Dutch Reformed Church. Their faith motivated them in supporting those who were struggling in life, which they did by donating living essentials to poor people in the Netherlands. In May 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands. Within months, the “Nazification” of the Dutch people began, but Corrie and her family couldn’t stand the fact of the innocent civilians they knew and loved were murdered, so they fought valiantly, and helped save Jews by hiding them in a secret room with a trap door, in their house. However, one day they were exposed by a dutch informant, and they were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, in Germany. Ever since the day the Nazis knocked on Corrie’s door, everything changed.
Corrie Ten Boom faced multiple troubles when she was growing up, and she saw a lot of terrible things happen to people she knew during this time. The trials she and her family faced strengthened their faith and though all of these troubles, God taught them how to face challenges with an open heart, and how to teach others about how Jesus can change their lives forever. Corrie Ten Boom faced a lot of challenges and conquered many trials of her faith during her time spent in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. When she arrived at the camp and stepped off the bus, their luggage was inspected for any weapons or any items that weren’t allowed in the camp. As she walked up with her luggage, she had a shocking realization that her bible was in her bag. When the Nazi official found the bible, he asked what it was. Corrie responded saying “It’s the holy bible, I read it to comfort myself”. Then, God miraculously touched the Nazi official’s heart and he allowed her through with her bible. This then touched Corrie’s heart, and she was inspired to help more people, and to be released from the camp she was in.
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Another trial Corrie faced, was when Corrie and her sister Betsie, and her roommates caught lice. Corrie and the other women were all complaining, except for Corrie’s older sister. Throughout the years Corrie was with her sister in Ravensbrück concentration camp, she learned that her sister was always comforting, and she was always positive about everything she went through. She always looked up to her sister and wished that she could talk and think like her. Corrie’s sister displays this positivity in this situation and helps the girls connect. Betsie and the girls figure out that since they now have lice, the Nazis want to avoid them, and they were able to host weekly bible studies using Corrie’s bible, and they could pray, and study the bible. Corrie said that they were so blessed to be able to do this, and they helped each other when struggling in their faith. They learned how to comfort each other and they loved each other. At the end of World War II, both Corrie and her sister survived.
The final trial that Corrie faced, was when her sister, her best friend at the time, died of a stroke. This hurt Corrie, and when this happens, she went through a state of her life where she was far away from God, and where her faith was incredibly shallow. She started to experience extreme sadness and depression, and she was on the brink of killing herself. However, in her book the hiding place, she shares about a sermon she went to about James chapter one verse two to four. It talked about how the trials of your faith build your endurance, and how these trials can make you a better person. A few months after the sermon, she creates a video called “God’s Love” inspired by her sisters’ personality, and way of thinking. This video highlights how we can build our faith by helping others, and that being kind to others can build their faith as well.
The sources of these trials originate from God. God uses people to make their trails. God uses trials as his tool to test if you will respond in faith and holiness. When Corrie sufferers through difficult trials, she chooses not to run away from them and not to fortify herself with comfortability and safety. She realizes that she will miss out on the chance of being utilized by God if she tries to avoid it. God uses trials to turn our dependence fully on him. God often uses trials to get our attention and reveal sin. God entrusts us with these trials so that we can be a light. God is at work in our bodies and is producing the fruit in our lives. He teaches through trials and loss that he alone is our treasure and great reward at the end. Trials are used to remind and restore us to fellowship with him.
God helped Corrie Ten Boom endure her trials in multiple situations through the lives of many people such as her sister, her friends and sometimes even Nazi officials. She encountered many trials of her faith, and through these trials, God made her a better person, and God deepened her faith. God also gave her lots of chances to glorify him and spread the word of his glory when she was at the camp. She held Bible studies and helped others become Christians, and she enhanced her faith. She went through highs and lows, but she always trusted in God to help her, and God always did. One way or another, God gave Corrie and her sister the strength to keep going, and to finish the work they had already started in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. When they finally were freed out of the camp, her sister died, and her parents had died as well. Corrie went through a dark time, struggling with depression and anxiety. However, God gave her the strength to persevere through her struggles, and to inspire others to persevere through their struggles as well.
After the war, Corrie Ten Boom returned to her homeland. She set up a rehabilitation camp for Holocaust survivors and those who had associated with the Germans during the war. In 1964, she began a worldwide ministry to over 60 countries. She shared the story of her life in churches, conferences, and Bible study groups to help convert others to Christians. She received many honours including having locations dedicated to her and her family and being knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands for her brave work during the war. Later in 1971, she wrote a book called The Hiding Place about her experiences during World War II. Corrie’s journey of life and forgiveness impacted many people in the world on how to live a life following God’s freedom and hope. Corrie’s wisdom inspired many to move forward with the same forgiveness, inspiring spirit of her brave soul.
I learned that most people fail to see God’s purpose and goodness in his trials. Often we are complaining, getting impatient and blaming God to put us through the trials and facing all the troubles and difficulties. We don’t see the benefits that God is bringing to us. Instead, God uses trials to direct people. God uses trials to point us in a new direction in God’s freedom and hope. Furthermore, God uses problems to teach us that Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer. Sometimes the way for us to learn is through pain and suffering. Through the battles, we can learn how to trust God infinitely and depend on him.
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