Back in February I decided to start an online book club for my followers on Instagram, “Idlewild Literary Club”! Inspired by Anne Shirley + Diana Barry’s whimsical secret club and my own love for reading/books. Though we read/discuss as a book club, I wanted to (and want to continue to) write an official post sharing my thoughts and reviews of each of our monthly reads. Each month, I also post our new read in my IG stories so that anyone else who would like to read along with us can do so!
Our first read a s a book club was “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom. I had read this years ago but remembered how moving and inspiring it was. It felt like the perfect first read for Idlewild! In case you’ve never heard of it, or read it yourself, here’s a little bit about it!
“Every experience God gives us . . . is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see.”–Corrie ten Boom
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler’s concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil.
Here is the riveting account of how Corrie and her family were able to save many of God’s chosen people. For 35 years millions have seen that there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still. Now The Hiding Place, repackaged for a new generation of readers, continues to declare that God’s love will overcome, heal, and restore.
A Discussion Q&A…
At the end of the month, we had a list of discussion questions to use as a guide/prompt for sharing our thoughts on The Hiding Place. So here are my answers for those questions!
+ Rate the book/your reading experience with stars: 5 stars! This felt more like a fiction than non fiction because of the style it is written in. But I feel like that’s what made it so easy to get into and connect with the characters/story!
+ Was this a book you would have otherwise read? Probably not because I don’t read much Non Fiction, but also maybe because I love stories based during the World Wars. The only reason I’d read it before was for school!
+ Is there a character that stood out to you the most? Corrie’s sister Betsie! Her faith and love for the Lord was just so strong and her perspective, outlook, and wisdom on life was just so inspiring!
+ Stories like Corrie’s always beg to comparison to ourselves and our own lives. We wonder how each of us would behave under similar horrific circumstances. How would you? What inner strengths and courage and compassion would you draw on? Would you have risked your life and the lives of your family to help the Jews or any others subjected to brutal persecution? I honestly don’t know if I could. I say I wouldn’t be able to but I hope that I might. I would definitely need peace, courage, and strength from the Lord because I know on my own I would not have what it would take!
+ Betsie said to Corrie, “I pray ever day that we be allowed to do this! To show [the Nazis] that love is greater!” What do you find extraordinary in that statement? Her forgiveness, her grace, her mercy. It is so evident that Christ reigned in her heart and was her light because she radiated of Him, His glory and His character!
+ In chapter 14 we learn why the girls should be thankful for fleas. What do you think of this? Should we all be thankful for negative things, even if we can’t see their use? What could fleas be a symbol of? I think fleas could represent any hardship or obstacle in our lives. Along with Corrie, I could not understand how the Lord could use something as small and menacing as fleas for something good. Yet, He did.
The Bible tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always” and to “give thanks in all circumstances” and that “all things work together for the good of those who love Him“. Boy did Betsie have this down. So yes, I think we should be thankful for the negative things the Lord allows in our lives, both great and small. The Lord uses hard things (and nuisances as small as fleas) to edify and sanctify us. Nothing happens to us that He doesn’t allow. And if He sees fit to allow us to go through something then we should praise Him for it. For His looking out for us. For His faithfulness. For the way He will use it and bring us through and closer to Him. “Count it all joy“.
+ How did you feel about the book at the beginning vs at the end? I truly loved it all the way through. It was an easy read and because of that I felt like I could just soak up every moment without having to dig the goodness out. It was all incredibile.
You’ve inspired me to read this book again. I read it years ago in college. I ordered two copies so I can read it with my good friend after lent.