Some years ago, I came across an old, battered copy of Corrie Ten Boom's book, The Hiding Place. Within moments of opening the book, I was lost in its yellowed pages and Corrie's memories of being imprisoned in brutal concentration camps in The Netherlands and Germany.In The Hiding Place, Corrie tells of a time when she and her sister Betsie were in particularly horrific conditions, and Betsie was very ill. Corrie had a little bottle of medicine that Betsie desperately needed. Carefully concealing her possession of the contraband medicine, Corrie would ration the medicine to Betsie a little each day. The bottle was dark, but Corrie could feel that the bottle was almost empty.
Corrie tells that there were many other sick women around them...hundreds, in fact, who were just as sick as Betsie. At first, Corrie wanted to keep the medicine just for Betsie...out of fear that it would run out and Betsie would die. Then, Betsie told Corrie that they needed to share...that God would perform a miracle...just as He had done for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in the Old Testament. God used Betsie to show Corrie that she needed to trust God, and she made a choice to share the medicine with all of those who needed it.
Everyday, for weeks, Corrie would go from one person to the next giving out the precious drops of medicine. Each time she would turn the bottle up, another drop would appear. Each day, she was sure that the medicine would run out. Yet, there would always be another drop. One day, a female guard, who was sympathetic to the women, smuggled in some vitamins. On that very same day, Corrie turned the bottle, and it was dry.
In 1 Kings 17, we find the story that inspired Betsie and Corrie to trust God. Israel was suffering from a drought. During the drought, God sent the prophet Elijah to the brook Cherith. Elijah drank from the brook and the ravens fed him there twice each day. After a period of time, the brook dried up, and God told Elijah it was time to move on. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So...Elijah got up and left.
When he arrived at the gates of Zarephath, he saw a widow there gathering sticks. Somehow, he knew she was the widow of which God had spoke. He asked her, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" The widow explained her situation to Elijah: that she lived in extreme poverty, that she had only enough flour and oil for one last meal, that she and her son were going to eat that last meal and then die. Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'" She went away and did as Elijah had told her. And, just as God had promised, the flour and oil did not run out until the drought was over.
For many of us who are a part of the real estate industry, we are experiencing a period of drought. It has not rained in many months, and the brook has dried up. Many real estate professionals are leaving the industry out of fear and necessity. For those of us who have decided to 'stick it out', I want to offer this thought...
Just as Corrie shared her precious drops of medicine, and the widow shared her last handful of flour and last drops of oil...we should be looking around us and sharing with those who are less fortunate than we. When I was a child, my mother would tell me over and over...'No matter how little we have, there is always someone who has less. So, that means that we must always share what we have, because we could be so much worse off.' Her words have stuck with me my whole life. I credit her for teaching me that I have a responsibility to the world around me. Her faith in action taught me to also have faith. In fact, I'm absolutely certain...that IF the Bible were being written today...my mother would be listed as a woman of great faith.
Faith inspires faith. These women...Corrie Ten Boom, The Widow of Zarephath and my precious mother...these simple, quiet women...have inspired and challenged me in ways they never could have imagined. They inspired me to share what I have, whether I have much or little. They inspired me to believe, even when I cannot see. They inspired me to trust that I will gain more by giving than by hoarding. They inspired me to live for others...not only for myself. They inspired me to want to inspire you.
The drought will end someday. Until then...have faith!
If you are planning to buy or sell your home...or know someone who is...I'd love to help! Contact me: Elizabeth Nieves - Broker, REALTOR® - The Elizabeth Nieves Realty Group @ Keller Williams - (919)749-3749 OR Elizabeth@ElizabethNieves.com
