At age 73, after 20 years of ministry around the world, Corrie Ten Boom’s body began to weaken, she’s tired and in need of rest.  The doctor who cared for her health suggested that she take a year off, to stay put in one place and to stop travelling.  So, she followed the advice; she went to Uganda to a place prepared for missionaries for a retreat and lived there for a year.  She did not stop ministries; she still went to church in and around the city she lived in, but she did not travel far.  Every night she could sleep in the same bed.

After one year of rest, it was time for her to resume her ministries, so she began making plans: a few months in Africa, a few months in America, and a few months in Eastern Europe. However, something happened during the planning process: she did not want to go!  She felt tired of sleeping in different beds and living out of her suitcases.  So, she changed her plan; she’d continue writing and speaking but only in the area.  She’d settle down and she’s happy with the plan.

But God was not too happy with her plan.  Not long after a minister from Rwanda came and shared the struggles that Christians faced there due to civil war and invited her to come to Rwanda.  Corrie wasn’t too happy, but she still asked the kind of message that those in Rwanda needed to hear.  The minister then opened his Bible and read from Revelation 2:1-5. When he came to this part, “But I hold this against you that you have lost your first love” Corrie knew that the Lord was speaking to her; she had lost her first love for Jesus.

The story of Corrie Ten Boom was the story of one who whose life was aligned to the life, the work, and the interests of Jesus Our Lord so much so that she had no life of her own.  But in having no life of her own, she received the honor of infusing life into so many around her, not only in her lifetime, but also till today.  It is still flowing.

Pastor Paul