Alone, but Not Alone

“Even if my father and my mother are taken from me, the Lord will hold me close.” — from Psalm 27

The prisoners were taken to a big prison at Scheveningen, by the sea. Papa was so weak that he had to be carried. At the gate he and Corrie blessed each other, and she looked back at him once. She never saw him again.

Corrie was still sick. A kind nurse secretly gave her some little books of the Gospels. Then Corrie was put in a cell all by herself, and she stayed alone there for weeks. It was cold and grey, and she was very lonely. The guards told her off for singing, but she sang anyway. A line of ants came across the floor, and she made friends with them and fed them crumbs. She remembered that Enoch “walked with God,” and she knew she was not walking alone either.

At last a letter came from Nollie, who had been let out of prison. Gently, it told Corrie that Papa had died. He had lived only nine days after he was arrested. Corrie cried and cried. Papa had once said that it would be an honour to give his life for the Jewish people, and now he had. The best had come for him: he was with Jesus.

One day an officer questioned Corrie. He asked whether teaching people with learning disabilities was a waste of time. Corrie told him that God loves the weak, and that such a person might be worth more to God than either of them.

Then, on 6 June 1944, the prisoners were moved. At a little station, in a big crowd, Corrie saw Betsie for the first time in more than three months! They squeezed into the same train carriage, sat side by side and held hands. Another woman teased them for being like two lovebirds.

Corrie said later that God had felt nearer to her in that lonely cell than ever before. When you feel all alone, you are not really alone. God is right there with you.

Dear God, thank you that you never leave me. Please be close to anyone who feels lonely or sad today. Amen.