Thought for the Week - 12th June 2022

Dear Friends, 

June 12th is the birth date of Anne Frank who was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929 and who wrote a bestselling diary detailing her life and thoughts between 1943-1945 entitled, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. It is one of the world’s most famous books and it began on Anne’s 13th birthday when she was given as a gift a journal which she kept as her family hid from the Nazis in a small hideout next to where her father, Otto, worked. As the rise of the Nazi party in Germany advanced, Otto Frank had decided to move his family to Amsterdam, but as war broke out in 1939 and countries fell under the control of the Nazis the situation became bleak for many Jewish families and others. The Frank family hid for two years until they were eventually captured and sent to concentration camps where the only survivor was Otto Frank, Anne dying of Typhus along with her older sister, Margot, in March 1945, just a month before the liberation by the allied soldiers. Anne’s father decided to publish her diary in 1947 and since then it has been translated into 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. The British Library says of the importance of Anne Frank’s diary, ‘The diary provides a vivid and poignant glimpse into the world of a young Jewish girl living in Nazi occupied Holland... describing the frightening period experienced by Anne, her family and friends… It also expresses her hopes and aspirations for the future, which were never to be realised’. There are some wonderful quotes from the diary including, ‘How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful.’ It is remarkable to see such words of wisdom from the lips of an early teenage girl faced with such a terrifying ordeal. It is a reminder that each new day brings with it the opportunity to live our lives showing the goodness of God as we know his goodness in our lives. ‘Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe’ (Psalm 4:6-8).    

Grace and peace,

Neil       

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