December 2, 2014 (Tuesday)
On this date in 1925, actress Julie Harris was born in Gross Pointe, Michigan. She was famous for her work on the stage, screen, and television. She won many awards and in 2002 received the Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. She was named to the American Theater Hall of Fame. She died last year.
She had many movies to her credit, but the one that I loved most was a 1975 film, “The Hiding Place,” in which she played Betsie, the sister of Corrie Ten Boom, played by Jeanette Clift George. The film portrayed a true story of how these two sisters in Holland secretly housed Jews in their home and were finally arrested and confined in a concentration camp in Germany. In captivity, Betsie urged Corrie to remain hopeful that God would rescue them from the brutalities they experienced. With little food and constant work, the women suffered constantly, and Betsie died. After the war, Corrie devoted her life to telling the world that Jesus’ love is greater than any suffering, even that of her own.
One scene in particular stands out in my memories of the film. Julie’s character, Betsie, leads a small group in prayer, and tells them they should be thankful for fleas. In the filthy conditions of the barracks, fleas inflicted additional suffering upon the prisoners, but Betsie explained that the fleas caused the guards to become lax in their inspections, and so they could worship without being inspected by the guards. (Click here to read the excerpt from their book).
Do you think you could bring yourself to thank the Lord for the fleas in your bed? Waking up every morning with new bites, greater discomfort and some pain would naturally produce complaints, discouragement and depression. But these two wonderful ladies from Holland actually thanked the Lord for their suffering, because it allowed them to read the Word of God and witness to their fellow prisoners.
Through the years we have met dedicated Christians who suffered much but glorified God in the midst of their suffering. How thankful we are for the people God has used, in the times of their suffering, to bless us who have seen in them what the Lord can do with a person who genuinely surrenders himself/herself to Him.