My Story 10

Grandma De Cock was old and grey when we moved in, in the late thirties. Nine of us moving in to live there, almost overnight. The noise , you would think would drive her nuts. But NO! She was stone deaf! Being deaf is no fun, but I see now how the whole circumstance fit together. Really, after all is said and done God knows best, and He has the final word.

Even though she was old and wrinkled now, I had the impression that she must have been an attractive, classy lady in her younger years. Her husband and "Oma" De Cock were members of the Dutch Reformed Church. In fact, for many years they were the directors of the large Christian orphanage in town, operated by their church. They had a suite in the building, and there they raised three children, my dad, and his siblings. When it was time to retire the church gave them a pension, a nice house, and a gold watch. Other than that I don't know much about their finances. Grandpa had died rather young. Because Oma was on a church pension, and lived in a church house, she felt she had to continue her membership in that spiritually dried up church, whose ministry was more on a social level. And that was good too, (even better I thought) then some of the more "spiritual" churches whose main accomplishment was making fingerprints on the ceiling! I suppose I was a little radical those days.

In an effort to attend her church, the "Grote Kerk", the famous church in the centre of Haarlem, she asked me more than once to accompany her. There was no heat in that building, and what the old ladies did was bring a little mini "stove", a container in which you place some hot embers. Then in church you would put your feet on it. That was a long time ago and in my memory some details are missing.

An other errand I remember was taking the beautiful gold watch in for cleaning or repair. I had to go to a shop in the Barteljoris Street, operated by the now famous Ten Boom family. Corrie ten Boom, you remember was one of the many people who wrote about their experiences in the war. She was later made famous by Billy Graham, who selected her book A Prisoner and Yet..., changed it to The Hiding Place and promoted it. Oma had the same maiden name, her name was also Corrie ten Boom, and the two Corries were full cousins. Corrie ten Boom who later travelled the world we all know as a humble and respected lady. We all loved her. Yet in my opinion Oma De Cock deserves our respect as well, for a life of service and sacrifice.