Some memories from the Anne Frank house, Amsterdam.

Do you keep a diary?  I know the popular thing right now is journaling.  But that is different.  That is a record of your feelings, dreams, struggles, etc.  A diary by nature tends to be a little bit more sterile and includes more of the activities and events within your life, your community and the world.

I find it very interesting that when we visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and the Corrie Ten Boom house in Haarlem (both in the Netherlands), we were confronted with the importance and insight of diaries.

The diary kept by Anne Frank is of course well-known.  We read about her life and get a glimpse into what was going on with the invasion of the Nazis and the persecution of the Jewish people.

When we visited the Corrie Ten Boom home, our guide (who was outstanding) told us after the tour about her mother’s diary and the events in the Netherlands during the Holocaust (they were not Jewish).  The guide told us that she was rereading her mother’s diary and that the events of today are eerily similar to what was going on then.  What she was able to see, through the reading of this diary, is the events as they unfolded, giving her a 20-20 vision of the progression and how that pattern is repeating itself.  They say that if we don’t know history, it is bound to repeat itself.

We know what will happen in the end, for we have the story already written in the Bible. We need to be studying prophecy with an eye on what is going on in the world today.

Here is a quote from the Corrie Ten Boom home website:

The history of the Ten Boom family is a testimony of their love and loyalty toward the Jewish people. This home is once again an “open house,” just as it was when the Ten Booms lived in it.  The museum is a living memorial to this  family who lived as Christians by grace and obedience to God.  It is hoped that many visitors will find inspiration in the example of the Ten Boom family. This old house carries an important message for today!

We were informed by the guide that people met continuously for 100  years in the living room of the Ten Boom home to pray for Jerusalem.  May we continue that tradition in our own homes and be willing to be obedient to G-d in the face of the persecution which will come.