Anne as you
probably recall was a German Jew which moved with her family at the beginning
of World War II from Germany to Holland to escape the persecution of the Jews
by the Nazi regime. After the Nazis occupied
Holland she, lead by her father, went into hiding with seven others. Their place of refuge was a small area hidden
by façade walls behind her father’s business.
The place was dark and dirty as well as small and cramped for the eight
who hid from persecution and possible death.
This story so
intrigued me because as I was traveling to Nigeria on a mission trip in January
of 1984 the mission team I accompanied had the privilege of touring “The Hiding
Place” while on a layover in Amsterdam.
While I must admit that the memory has faded a bit, the realization of
the life this young teen with her family and friends encountered became fresh
as I read this chapter in The Traveler’s
Gift. As I read each page my
imagination of this young girl’s life ran wild.
I tried, without much success, to empathize with her in the fact of
living in seclusion and constant fear. I
was mesmerized by the reality that at any moment this band of hermits could be
discovered only to meet with their tragic end.
Yet, there was
something about this young girl which captivated me as Andrews portrayed
her. What was that captivation? She did not complain! In the midst of turmoil, potential tragedy,
constant fear, and mere existence in less than ideal circumstances she did not
complain. The traveler discovered this
when he asked her, “What do you complain about?” after learning of one of the
hidings tenets constant complaining. She
responded so incredibly for a young girl.
She said, “I don’t complain. Papa says complaining is an activity just
as jumping rope or listening to the radio is an activity. One may choose to turn on the radio, and one
may choose not to turn on the radio. One
may choose to complain, and one may choose not to complain. I choose not to complain.” (p.101)
This response
startled the traveler for he looked at the conditions in which Anne found
herself. He looked at the hazards, the
hardships, and the horrors of the girl’s life but she looked at the blessings
compared to those much less fortunate.
She saw this as a choice to be bitter and discouraged or an opportunity
to choose to not be dismayed by her circumstances. Later in the chapter Anne tells the traveler,
“Life is a privilege, but to live life to its fullest---well, that is a choice.”
(p. 107)
How do you see
your life? How do you see your
circumstances? How do you see your
future? The reality is that from where
you have come, where you are, and where you are going is all dependent upon
your choices! How will you choose to
live this day? How will you choose to
chart your future? As a child many of us
learned an old song titled, This is the
Day. In this old song we quote a
passage of scripture from Psalm 118:24 which says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” How will you face this day? Will you charge forward with gladness or
despair? Will you choose to be content
in the Lord? Will you choose to be happy regardless of what the circumstances
around you might dictate? Today, let us
choose to be happy in the Lord.
In the words of
Phil from Duck Dynasty, Happy, Happy, Happy!
Pastor Ric
Joshua 24:15
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