NO PIT TOO DEEP

~ spicedmullings

*Friday Fictioneers is talented group of enthusiasts penning down a story, a poem, a prose, etc., expressing their heart about a photo prompt, every week.

Today’s photo prompt reminds me of 2 things: A crown of thorns & a concentration camp. That’s why I have given an excerpt from the book THE HIDING PLACE (also made into a film) on the Ten Boom family of watchmakers, who worked to save Jews in Holland. 

 

Genre: History                                                                                   Words: 103

“And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others.

One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.

It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man.

I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin.

This man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent. …”

 

*Corrie was in Ravensbruck with her sister Betsie in the concentration camp. Betsie died in the camp while Corrie was released. She was one who lived what she preached, viz. Forgive your enemies. During one of her meetings in Germany, she meets a former camp guard. Her reactions & subsequent acceptance of the man who stood before her as Christian are worth a read. 

The title is also from one of her famous quotes: There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.

“God does not have problems. Only plans,” proclaimed Corrie ten Boom when a clerical error allowed her to be released from a Nazi concentration camp one week before all women prisoners her age were executed. 

Though she was released from the horror of Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie continued to live with a remarkable reliance on God, just as her family had as they hid Jews from Nazi terror. Generations of ten Booms held Christian prayer meetings for Israel for 100 years prior to World War II. Traveling the world as an ambassador of the power of forgiveness in Christ, Corrie later established rehabilitation centers to help other Holocaust survivors.

 

 

48 thoughts on “NO PIT TOO DEEP”

  3. Dear Sabina,

    I’ve always admired Corrie Ten Boom, It amazes me that she had such faith and could forgive that man.
    Nothing to do with your story, but in Israel at Yad V’Shem there are trees planted along a sidewalk in honor or righteous gentiles. There is a very young tree for Corrie. When she died, her tree did, too. so they planted another. She was a great lady.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 3 people

  7. Excellent story evoking powerful emotions. Like many others, I tend to filter out some of the harsh reality that existed in these camps, not wanting to take in the horrifying truth. But those scars are things all humans must bear, lest we fall victim once again to the cruelty of the evil soul.

    Very nicely written.

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  9. It’s amazing that you could capture this is a 100 words and less without the overstated last lines…Great job all the same…horrific story.

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  10. The passage is a direct quote from the book called HIDING PLACE. I have already mentioned it as from the book. Sorry, if I have given the impression that it is mine!

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  11. The passage is a direct quote from the book called HIDING PLACE. I have already mentioned it as from the book. Sorry, if I have given the impression that it is mine!

    Like

  13. The passage is a direct quote from the book called HIDING PLACE. I have already mentioned it as from the book. Sorry, if I have given the impression that it is mine!

    Like

  15. The passage is a direct quote from the book called HIDING PLACE. I have already mentioned it as from the book. Sorry, if I have given the impression that it is mine!

    Like

  16. I have always been in awe of the strength and courage of those who went through the ordeal of concentration camps.The horror is just unimaginable.

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  17. Thank you for sharing the excerpt. It’s very compelling. Like the others, I thought you had wrote it until I went back and read the introduction.

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  22. Corrie Ten Boom. One of the greats. Her humility and the strength God gave her through that horrific ordeal were immense. Rochelle and I saw the tree planted for her at Yad V’shem. Thanks for this!

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  36. Thank you.
    Evil can never be won by evil. Only the good has the power to overcome it.
    Personally, I have seen and experienced that forgiveness helps the one who forgives MORE than the one forgiven!
    It truly liberates!

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  40. Thank you for this story. I have not heard of Corrie before. I have just recently finished reading the Girl from Krakow and watched the movie about Sophie Scholl. I have read Schindler’s List and Sophie’s Choice, etc. I more fascinated and puzzled about our human nature than ever.

    Lily

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  41. Human beimgs alone have the ability to transcend to heights of godliness and descend to the depths of bestiality.
    Its all a matter of choice, the greatest gift given to man – free will.
    Corrie’s true life story ilustrates it.
    Thanks for reading and commenting!

    Liked by 1 person

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