For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39, NRSVue
Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews from the Nazis in the Netherlands. She and her sister Betsie were sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Betsie died there. Corrie survived.
After the war, she traveled and spoke about God’s forgiveness. In 1947, after a talk in Munich, a man walked up to her with his hand held out. She recognized him as a guard from Ravensbruck. He told her he had become a Christian, and he asked for her forgiveness.
Corrie stood frozen. She had just preached forgiveness, and she felt none. She later wrote that forgiveness is an act of the will. She prayed for help and lifted her hand. She took his hand and told him she forgave him with all her heart.
Corrie’s story does not tell anyone to rush past deep harm. Healing takes time, and God is patient with wounds. Her story tells us something else: the worst place she ever knew did not cut her off from the love of God.
Whatever you carry today, God’s love has not left you. Grief has not separated you from God. Neither has fear, or anger, or the thing you find hard to forgive.
Prayer
God of mercy, hold me in the places where I still hurt. Be patient with me, and teach me your love. Amen.
Today’s step
Name one hurt you carry, and tell God the truth about it.
The story: Corrie ten Boom, The Question of God, PBS
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.