Do you know the story of Corrie Ten Boom? April 15 is her birthday and also the day she died!

Corrie was born in 1892 in Haarlem, Netherlands, the youngest child of watchmaker Casper and his wife, Johnanna. In 1922, Corrie became the first female licensed as a watchmaker in the Netherlands, but she is best known for opposing the Nazi occupation and abuse of the Jews in the Netherlands. After being captured in 1944 by the Nazi’s for their part in the Dutch resistance, Corrie and her sister were imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Her father was also imprisoned, and both he and Betsie died in captivity.

Corrie survived and spent the next 40 years telling the story of Christ’s kind salvation. Her story is an absolute triumph of His powerful forgiveness. You can read her story in the book, The Hiding Place or watch the movie by the same name. A beautiful graphic art edition of the Hiding Place is newly available. I would also highly recommend The Watchmaker’s Daughter, a new biography of Corrie’s life before, during, and after the Holocaust.

No visit to the Netherlands is complete without a visit to the Corrie’s home in Haarlem, but wherever you are in the world, you can also take an on-line tour of her home here.

Corrie’s life has been such an encouragement to me over the years. She never married, but lived a purposeful life of service to the Lord. She wrote extensively, including a post-imprisonment reflection called Tramp for the Lord.

Following here is a brief passage from my soon-to-be-launched book Single Together:

Perhaps you are familiar with The Hiding Place, which retells the story of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who was imprisoned by the Third Reich for espionage and hiding Jews in her home. Corrie lost first her father and then her sister to the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. Upon her release, Corrie began to write and speak about her experiences. A few years ago, I was able to visit her home in the Netherlands. On display in her living room was a piece of embroidery that she used to show to her audiences. The explanation under the embroidery reads:

She would often hold up the back side of a piece of embroidery, with hundreds of tangled threads hanging from it. Many wondered if she was holding up the wrong side by mistake. As she held up the messy side of the embroidery she would ask, “Does God always grant us what we ask for in prayers? Not always. Sometimes he says ‘No.’ That is because God knows what we do not know. God knows all. Look at this piece of embroidery. The wrong side is chaos. But look at the beautiful picture on the other side—the right side.” Triumphantly she flipped the cloth over and revealed an elaborately embroidered crown—symbolizing our crown of eternal life. The crown was intricately stitched, and had threads of many colors, including gold, silver, and pearls. “We see now the wrong side; God sees His side all the time. One day we shall see the embroidery from His side, and thank Him for every answered and unanswered prayer.”

As I walked through the ten Boom living room that day, I noticed a tattered Bible on the desk, open to Psalm 64, a song of David’s lament which ends with these triumphant words: “Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!” (v. 10). From the look of those worn, taped pages, Corrie must have lived in those words throughout her life.

Single Together: Stewarding Singleness in the Family of God, pp. 79-80

Happy Birthday, Corrie! I am so glad that you were born!