Heart to Heart from Cheri
Thanking God for those who came before us…
During Thanksgiving week I said many “thank you's”
to God for some of the women who came before me and
taught me so much, and I wanted to share a few of
those with you. Corrie ten Boom is one of those
women. I never met her on earth, but when I do
in heaven, I'll thank her because over the years my faith has
been strengthened by her wise words and her example.
As a young woman I was impacted by her book and the
movie based on it, "The Hiding Place" which tells
the story of how God sustained this small Dutch
woman through the horrors of the Nazi concentration
camp after she and her family were captured and
imprisoned for hiding and caring for Jewish people
during World War II. From the time of her release
at the end of the war to her death in 1983, Corrie
traveled the world, sharing a message of love, faith
and forgiveness.
From the writings of Corrie ten Boom, I learned to
stop focusing on my situation or problem and focus
my mind on the Lord. “Keep looking in the right
direction in everything you do—to Jesus; keep
looking up and kneeling down,” she taught us. “We
are not ready for the battle until we have seen the
Lord, for Jesus is the answer to all problems.”
(from Reflections of God’s Glory—see Book Review
this issue)
From Edith Shaeffer I learned how important it is to
make a home wherever we find ourselves, large or
small. Her book What Is a Family? was a great
inspiration to me in my years of active mothering
and homemaking. In each place the Schaeffers
lived—from a crowded little chalet in Switzerland
where they began L’Abri ministry to the apartment
near the Minnesota hospital where Francis received
chemotherapy during his last months of life—they
made a center of meaningful living and beauty
wherever they were, and reached out to invite others
to share what they had.
The writings of Amy Carmichael have shed much light
on my path as well. A missionary to India, Amy
sensed God’s call as a young woman but had no idea
the dangerous work that lay ahead—to save young
girls from cult prostitution in Hindu temples.
Through many times of material need, great pain and
illness, attacks and disappointment, Amy experienced
God as her great refuge and wrote of the sheltering
love of God, who is with us in all things. This
courageous woman stepped faithfully into the
darkness, trusting Him in every circumstance. From
Amy I learned to be patient, waiting for God to
answer prayer in his time and way, and that patient
waiting means hoping and trusting in the face of all
discouragement.
Flo Perkins was a widow of 75 when she and I, a
thirty-year-old, began a friendship. On many
occasions she sat at my kitchen table, or I at hers,
eating slices of banana bread I’d made. Whenever we
talked, Jesus always came into the conversation
because He was her best friend. She prayed for me,
my husband and children as long as she was on the
earth, and encouraged me to go deeper in prayer. Not
just with words, but with actions.
For a season a few of us young women and I met at
her home once a week early in the morning. Flo had
been going into God’s presence for over fifty years,
so for her, prayer was as natural as breathing.
Somehow she took us in on her wings and without
teaching, in the very act of praying honestly,
humbly, and perseveringly, we learned a great deal
from her about the power and value of prayer.
My friend Patty J has shared her wisdom with me at
her kitchen table and her prayers have meant the
world to me. She also has taught me much about
celebrating the gift of life with creativity, zest
and enthusiasm. When I was dreading my 50th
birthday, feeling a bit over the hill, she told me I
was about to enter my prime, the best years of a
woman’s life she called the “Fabulous Fifties.” And
you know what? Patty was right.
My mother has been gone for more than two decades,
but her wisdom and sayings mentored me through the
years. Like one of the first verses she taught me
and my four sisters: “Be kind and tenderhearted to
one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). How grateful I
am for a mother who not only prayed for me and all
my siblings and her grandchildren, but whose love
lives on far beyond her life.
Like these women, many of those who have gone before
us—our mothers, mothers-in-law, older friends, and
spiritual women who have left us a legacy in their
writings—are master teachers. No matter our age
difference, if we open our hearts and minds, our
lives will be tremendously enriched. If we ignore
what they have to offer, we are missing out on a
great resource. Look around today to those who have
encouraged you, prayed for you, or who would love to
share their journey and wisdom with you. And don’t
forget to give thanks for them—and to them!
Quotes to Ponder
Prayer: lovingly bringing all the needs of our
family, friends, neighbors and our nation, indeed
the whole world, before the Father and persisting in
faith until help and salvation come.
Prayer: to bring heaven down to earth—to bring
divine transformation in situations and the hearts
of men.
Prayer: to look away from visible things to the
invisible God, who rules over all dominions and
powers, over the visible and the invisible.
--M. Basilea Schlink
Book & Movie Reviews
Reflections
of God's Glory
By Corrie ten Boom
Zondervan, 1999
This small book, one of the most treasured in my
library, consists of twenty-four meditations which
Corrie ten Boom originally broadcast for Trans World
Radio in Belgium and
the Netherlands in the 1960’s. For many years the
recordings were lost, but sixteen years after her
death they were discovered, translated, and
published as Reflections of God’s Glory. If
our house was on fire and I had only a few books to
take with me, this would be one of those. It has
treasures of wisdom and page after page, you see the
special gift Corrie brought to us of presenting
personal illustrations and practical lessons for
daily living. Like this one: “I once talked to Dr.
Elly Beerman-de Roos, an experienced counselor,
about a problem that seemed insurmountable to me.
‘Nothing will come of it,’ I said. Then she struck
her fist on the table and said, “What? He who rose
from the dead and rolled away a heavy stone from the
grave does not have the power to deal with your
problem?’
I
was ashamed of myself and saw the reality of Jesus’
victory. The power which enables Him to bring
everything under His control is strong enough for
Him to take you and me, who are so busy with our
work, by the hand and lead us into silence…He can do
it! What do we have to do? Place our weak hand in
His strong hand. Open all the corners, drawers, and
rooms of our life for Him so that His victory is not
just experienced in one room or in a particular
circumstance. No, open all the windows to the light.
Don’t leave one corner in the dark. Open everything
to Him!” (page 21, Reflections of His Glory).
These lost writings come to life share God’s answer
to worry, the miracle of prayer, the courage of
faith, and chapters like “Can You Forgive?” “Going
Where God Sends You.” What a lovely Christmas gift
to yourself or a friend!
You can purchase this book for $8.99 with F*REE
Shipping using our
special order form. This book is out of
print, so some copies may be slightly used.
Recommended
Resources
Reflections of
God's Glory
Inspired by a story of faith and forgiveness in
the midst of the Nazi Holocaust, a story that was
also presented in a book and film of the same name
that had a huge impact on the world: The Hiding
Place. . Her experiences speak to the trials and
circumstances of our own lives.
Purchase
at
PC Publications for $8.99 with F*REE Shipping,
A
Busy Woman's Guide to Prayer
Discover how to
overcome obstacles,
discouragement and busyness to connect with God and
experience the blessing of prayer.
Questions included in book and a guide will be
available
on
Cheri's Website at
www.cherifuller.com.
Purchase
at
PC Publications for $12.99 with F*REE Shipping,
