Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, tells the story of a conversation she had with her father when she was a child. She confided in her father that she was afraid of death and was quite sure she did not have the strength to be a martyr. Corrie’s father reminded her of the train ride to Amsterdam. “"When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?"

"No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train."

"That is right," her father said, "and so it is with God's strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength . . . He will supply all you need just in time."

Many years later, Corrie, her sister Betsy, and their father were imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps for hiding Jews in a secret room in their home. Corrie’s sister and father passed away during their imprisonment. Corrie was released from Ravensbrück, due to a clerical error, just a week before all the women her age were killed. She spent the rest of her life traveling the world, telling people "there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still." Corrie died at the age of 91.

Corrie drew strength from her father’s metaphor during her imprisonment. In the face of death, she remembered that God would provide all the grace she would need to make the final journey, no matter when the "train" arrived to take her into eternity.

Just as her earthly father provided the ticket when they were about to step onto the train to Amsterdam, her Heavenly Father provided the grace for the final journey.

The grace of God is not restricted to the moment of our death. God’s grace is ongoing. He offers us the grace to say yes countless times each day. Even now, we are learning how to wait upon the Father for strength. We meet each moment with outstretched hands, waiting for the ticket. We are learning to rely on God, to trust in his providence, to wait upon the Lord for strength.

There is strength for every task. Strength to get out of bed when the alarm sounds. Strength to study for tests and to complete assignments. Strength to work productively for our employers. Strength to meet familial challenges with patience and perseverance.

Simple grace, for the thousand-and-one demands on us today.

We learn to receive small graces for small challenges so that we will readily receive great grace for the greatest challenge of all.