How beautiful and pure is the relationship between a loving father and his daughter. Such a father instinctively wants to guard and protect his daughter while teaching her wisdom, courage and grace. More and more I am encountering places where this relationship is degraded, either by a father that does not guard and protect his daughter or by a society that mocks a father who is strong and courageous enough to do this for his beloved daughter. At a recent talk I attended by a nationally known feminist, a very brave and courageous young woman stood up after the talk and defended her pledge to purity after the speaker roundly mocked this type of pledge, particularly when it involves the father's vow of love for his daughter. So this incident inspired me to write a post about the importance of fathers and how much they mean to their daughters.
None of us have perfect relationships with our fathers, and some have hurts that are so deep that healing seems impossible, but NOTHING is impossible with God. My heart is filled with so much gratitude for all fathers and for those especially that guide us to Our Father in Heaven. Thank you to my dad for his love for me and for giving me life and for teaching me true compassion for others. Thank you to my husband for his devotion to our family and for sharing his love with me, flowing out of God's Love abiding in his own heart and demonstrated by his dedication to passing on our faith to our sons and daughters.
It is very difficult to describe in one blog post the profound impact that one father, Casper Ten Boom had on his daughter Corrie Ten Boom, but I want to share a few quotes from the book,
The Hiding Place, that so touched me it still stirs my heart years after reading Corrie's memories of her father. Casper's words and actions so formed Corrie's heart, that she was led to bring God's Healing Love and Mercy to the horrifying darkness of a Nazi concentration camp.
In an amazing witness of courage and Love that can only come from God, Corrie Ten Boom recounts growing up in Holland and her family's experiences helping protect Jews escape imprisonment by Nazis. Eventually Corrie and much of her family are imprisoned themselves.
This Love originated with our Father in Heaven and flowed through Corrie's father Casper Ten Boom, a kind, strong and humble watch repairman whose words and actions resonated deep within his daughters' hearts. I hope these memories touch your heart as much as they do mine:
Corrie's thoughts about "childhood scenes from the past":
Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.
Casper's words to Corrie when she asked about "sexsin" as a young girl. They were travelling together, so he showed her the burden of this by talking to her about the heaviness of her suitcase:
It’s too heavy. Yes, and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.
Casper to Corrie about death:
“Corrie,” he began gently “When you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?”
I sniffed a few time considering this,”Why, just before we get on the train.”
“Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we are going to need things, too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need – just in time.”
Corrie recalling her father's words while listening to her beloved Tante Jans speak just before her death:
“Dear Jesus, I thank you that we must come with empty hands. I thank you that you have done all– all – on the cross, and that all we need in life or death is to be sure of this.” It was Father’s train ticket, given at the moment itself.
Casper and Corrie having a talk about Love:
“Corrie,” he began instead, “do you know what hurts so very much? It’s love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked, that means pain.
“There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill the love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies too. Or, Corrie, we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel.
“God Loves Karel – even more than you do- and if you ask Him, He will give you His Love for this man, a Love nothing can prevent, nothing destroy. Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way.”
I did not know, as I listened to father’s footsteps winding down the stairs that he had given me more than the key to this hard moment. I did not know that he had put into my hands the secret that would open far darker rooms than this- places where there was not, on a human level, anything to love at all.
The following quote can be used for a future post about the beauty of motherhood, but I really want to include this reflection of Corrie about her mama to show the major influence she had on Corrie as well:
Mama’s love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street – and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that Love is larger than the walls that shut it in.
Corrie's thoughts on Love:
How did one show it? How could God Himself show Truth and Love at the same time in a world like this? By dying. The answer stood out sharper and chillier than it ever had before that night: the shape of a Cross etched on the history of the world.
Through her amazing story, Corrie expresses how her father taught her and loved her by relating all back to Our Father in Heaven, Our Father Who pours out His Love for us by giving His Son, Himself, for us. This Love given to Casper for his family brought Corrie and the many lives she touched in the Nazi concentration camp through an unspeakable horror with Faith, Hope, and Love perhaps broken for a time, but not destroyed.
If you have never read
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, I highly recommend it. There is so much more contained in her story, so read
the book. If it has been awhile since you told your father how much you love him and how thankful you are for him, do so while thanking God for adopting us as His sons and daughters.
Note: Switching between lower case l in love to capital L in Love is not necessarily by the authors of this edition of The Hiding Place. Lower case l/upper case L emphasis mine. Not a perfect emphasis I might add, but what I thought worked while writing this post.
