..............................................................................................................................................
Terry
Meeuwsen
The book Hiding
Place chronicles the life of Corrie ten Boom.
Corrie and her family
were Dutch believers who hid Jews in their home during the Nazi reign of
terror.
They were finally
arrested and imprisoned for hiding and smuggling Jews to safety. Corrie was the
only survivor.
When I consider the
condition of the world today – the loss of high moral standards, the increasing
instances of violence and drug use, and the basic disregard for human life – I
am frightened for us as a nation and am deeply concerned for my children.
In a world where
rules are scorned and personal rights take precedence over all else, how do I
teach my children that some things are worth dying for?
Stories like Corrie’s
help me to keep on keeping on in my own faith walk and to encourage my children
in theirs.
Years ago, at the age
of 22, a friend encouraged me to enter the Miss America Pageant.
I wanted to study
professionally in New York City, and the pageant scholarship was substantial
enough to make that dream a reality.
But there was a
process to it. You had to enter a local pageant first. If you won that, you
went on to a state competition.
If you won that, you
competed in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the Miss America title. Oh, the
effort I put into that endeavor!
It took hours, days,
months of discipline and perseverance. There were mock interviews, rehearsals,
and workouts.
There were sessions
on walking, wardrobe, cosmetics, and speech. And singing, singing, singing.
Ultimately I won, and
I was given many opportunities and blessings as a result of being Miss America.
But I did all that
for a crown that will perish. How much more should I be willing to do for a
crown that is imperishable?
The Bible is filled
with stories of men and women who, in the face of impossible circumstances,
persevered and were mightily used of God.
I want to be the kind
of woman God can count on. Yet, sometimes I look at my own weaknesses or
the circumstances around me and am discouraged.
I look at my
children and the challenges that could face them and am afraid. But then, I
lift my eyes to my heavenly Father and am reminded that He is strong.
In The Hiding
Place, Corrie expresses her fear to her father and asks how she can be sure
she’ll have the courage to walk out her faith if they are caught.
Her
father says, “Corrie, when we take a train ride, when do you get the ticket
to get on the train?”
Corrie
answered, “When the train is ready to leave.”
So it is with our
God. We need to keep our heart’s attitude right, but the ability and strength
to persevere come from Him.
Lord,
make me a woman of conviction, willing to pay the price and finish the race.
When I am weary, remind me that You are the source of my strength.
Excerpted with
permission from Near to the Heart of God, by Terry Meeuwsen
©1998
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Winning
the Miss America crown helped Terry launch a career in broadcasting that would
ultimately bring her to the Christian Broadcasting Network. Since 1993, Terry
has been the warm, engaging personality greeting The 700 Club guests on weekday
mornings. Serving as co-host with Pat and Gordon Robertson, the trio has shared
the love of God with millions of viewers from the CBN studios in Virginia
Beach, VA over the last 23 years.
Terry is
also an accomplished author, with four titles to her name, including The
God Adventure, a story of God’s power and purpose in her life.
A
lifelong advocate for children, Terry and her husband Andy are the parents of
seven, including five adopted children. It was this passion for adoption that
led Terry to launch Orphan’s
Promise in 2006. Orphan’s Promise is CBN’s ministry to children around
the world; it recently celebrated 10 years of taking vulnerable children from
at-risk to thriving.
To find
out more about Orphan’s Promise, visit OrphansPromise.org.
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