Due to a tremendous rush on my services elsewhere, namely teaching, I’ve been a bit behind on my blogging. My apologies! So, here we go with my "look back on 2009" -- even though we are in the second month of 2010.
As a young girl, Corrie ten Boom enjoyed a close relationship with her father. Like many good fathers, one of the areas Mr. Ten Boom excelled in was answering the puzzling questions of his children. Usually, Corrie would save her “big” questions for their weekly train ride to Amsterdam. That was a time when Mr. Ten Boom would buy parts and supplies for his clock business. Also, that was a time when they were virtually alone and could then talk about almost anything.
On one such trip, Corrie had a one of those questions that an adult never knows quite how to answer. She had read in school a poem that included the line, “a young man whose face was not shadowed by sexsin.” She could not figure out what that last word meant. “Sex,” she was sure, meant whether you were a boy or girl. “Sin” was a word that made her pious aunt blush, every time she heard it. Putting the two words together, however, did not make much sense at all. So, she asked her father about it. He, being a wise, older man, felt it was not something a girl of her age should be troubled with. So he said nothing…not directly, anyways.
When the train finally pulled to a stop, he asked his daughter to carry their very full suitcase. This was heavy with all sorts of watch parts and tools. Of course it was too heavy for Corrie to carry, no matter how much she struggled. Finally, she gave up and said, “It’s too heavy.”
Her father’s reply was one filled with great wisdom.
“’Yes,’ he said. ‘And I 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.”
As you might imagine, the years following brought many more questions to Corrie ten Boom. With the increased quantity, there was also increased intensity and gravity to the questions on her mind. Why was she placed in solitary confinement in a German prison for months on end? Why did her sister die in the prison days before they were to be released? The list goes on and on. Yet, Corrie learned to leave these questions in her Heavenly Father’s keeping.
I think everyone has questions in their minds. If nothing else, the age-old question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” always has its place in the lineup of unanswered thoughts. There are also many other personal questions that come to mind. I certainly have some of my own, and I am sure everyone else does, too.
What I have learned, is to remember that God is still on the throne, no matter what happens. In a crisis, it may seem that the world has crumbled to pieces, and everything is turned upside down. Nothing will ever be the same. We must remember though, that, of the important things, not much really has changed at all. God is still working this out for good.
Thank you Sharon...this 'hit the spot' this morning!
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