― Anne Frank, “The Diary of a Young Girl”

I was 14 years old when our school drama director cast me to play the role of Anne Frank. He said there was a poignant resemblance between the famous Jewish writer and me, both in looks and attitude. As I looked at her pictures and started reading her diary, I became genuinely flattered by the compliment. Anne Frank was a pure beam of light. Her optimism, imagination, and grace were both contagious and astounding.

I had recently found out that my father was a descendent of Dutch Jews; therefore, the plight of my ancestors in World War II became a meaningful subject of study to me. In an attempt to better understand the truth about one of history’s darkest times, I read several books concerning the war.

But of all the books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched on WWII since then, Anne Frank’s diary was perhaps the one that touched me the most.

The diary provides the reader with an intense and moving glimpse into the world of this young teenager. Her family fled from Nazi Germany to Amsterdam in 1933. In 1940, Germany invaded Holland, and one year later, when all public schools closed to Jews, the Franks were forced to hide in a secret annex of a house. They remained in their small hiding place and under the protection of non-Jew Dutch office workers for two years but were eventually betrayed and deported to Westerbork concentration camp, and later to Auschwitz-Birkenau. In November 1944, Anne and her sister Margot arrived in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne contracted typhus and died.

Earlier this morning, I was outside, enjoying one of the few sunny days during this countrywide quarantine, when one of Anne Frank’s quotes ran across my mind:

“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?”

As I closed my eyes, letting the warm morning sunshine touch my face, I listened to the birds’ songs and the rustling of leaves as my two puppies chased each other in the backyard. I thought about the many complaints I have heard since the government shut down businesses and public places, forcing us to stay home with our families. Those thoughts took me back to a young girl who, 80 years ago, was forced to hide, not for one month, but two years, and who still had the hope and wisdom to see beauty and God’s hand in her dire circumstances. The memory of the time her story stole my heart encouraged me to dust off her book and read some of her most encouraging quotes:

“I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”

“Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery.”

“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”

Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again ~ Anne Frank @AJC #MondayMotivation #MondayThoughts #AnneFrank #Coronovirus #encouragement
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We don’t know how long this quarantine will last, how many people will get sick with this dreadful virus, and how many more will die. All we can do is trust God, who is still on the throne. He has allowed this crisis for a reason. While many of our comforts and amenities have been taken away, we should seize this surreal time and enjoy people and things we often take for granted, as well as reach out to those in need. We may not be able to visit them, but we can pray, leave a meal at their doorstep, or send an encouraging text or card.

We don’t know how long this quarantine will last, how many people will get sick with this dreadful virus, and how many more will die. All we can do is trust God, who is still on the throne. @AJC #MondayMotivation #MondayThoughts…
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The question is: Are we choosing to spend this time complaining, criticizing our authorities or trembling in fear, or, like that wise 14-year-old Jewish girl, are we determined to find beauty, gratitude, and purpose in this trial?

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” — Nelson Mandela

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. ~ Nelson Mandela @AJC #MondayMotivation #MondayThoughts #AnneFrank #Coronovirus #encouragement
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This article was originally published on Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, March 28, 2020. Click HERE to read it on the AJC website. 

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They say that once you’re in the groove, working out is really fun. Indeed, I faintly remember enjoying it until about eight years ago, when various health problems and major surgeries kept me from the gym for months at a time. But ever since then, exercising has become a necessity, not a pleasure. I know if I am to be strong, I must train these feeble muscles of mine.

“No pain, no gain”, says the famous maxim. As much as I hate it, I know it’s true.

Benjamin Franklyn’s old proverb can easily be applied to our faith walk as well. The strongest men and women of faith who have walked this earth and impacted their society for good have had to exercise their faith muscles though the hardest of circumstances. Great non-fiction books are usually written with the blood of those who teach the lessons within; and one cannot overlook the fact that the people we know who impacted our faith the most are usually those whom we witnessed walk through dark valleys and yet maintain unfazed faith.

When it comes to life’s struggles, what defeats us is not necessary the trials we face, but our attitude towards them. We often treat our life’s workouts with the same lack of resilience that we have when we hit the gym. Indeed, many of us turn our back on God when the going gets rough, blaming him for the pain we feel, not realizing that our trials are tools that He uses to shape us, strengthen us and refine our character. As we deny God the right to use whichever tools he chooses to make us stronger, we miss out on growing spiritually and emotionally. The result is the same to our faith as it is to our body muscle groups: Our testimony becomes progressively weaker. On the other hand, we see examples in history and in our midst of people who have allowed God to shape them as they went through difficult circumstances. The result is a list of world changers and history makers, who impacted the world because they allowed their trials to strengthen their character and purify their hearts. Their voices echo in history. Their strength inspires generations. Their names may be famous, such as Anne Frank, Hellen Keller, Winston Churchill, or Charles Spurgeon. But they’re also the unsung heroes of faith: Grandmas and grandpas, next door neighbors and school teachers, whom we have witnessed walk through the darkest valleys, coming out with a strong testimony of God’s faithfulness and goodness through it all.

I don’t feel like going back to the gym today. I’d certainly much rather get a bag of popcorn and rent a chick flick. But I know that, unless I press on, my muscles will never become strong again.  Likewise, if I want to see God moving in a mighty way in my life, I must trust him to shape me, strengthen me, molding my character through the trials I face. It hurts and I don’t like it.  But as I look back and see the awesome things that he’s already done, I choose to tell my heart to keep on trusting, for I know his plans for me are good. He’s never failed me yet.

Patricia Holbrook is a Christian author and national conference speaker. Her first book, “12 Inches – Bridging the Gap between How You Feel and What You Know About God” will be available in stores nationwide in the Summer of 2015. Visit her blog to read her devotionals at www.soaringwithhim.com or email her at pholbrook@soaringwithhim.com

Patricia Holbrook

The post Life’s Workouts are Meant to Strengthen our Faith (Weekend Column for AJC) appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.