It's unlikely that many of you have heard of Darlene Deibler Rose. Darlene was a POW of the Japanese in WWII after working with her husband in New Guinea.
Her story is one of great strength and character, of faith and hope in desperate times. Darlene only wrote one book, Evidence Not Seen, though I sincerely wish she had written more. Her book is an autobiography of her time from when she met her husband, the Rev. Russel Deibler, and when she was released from a Japanese prison camp.
In her book, Darlene tells of her eagerness to go with her new husband to a country she has never seen and to love it and its people. She is ready to go wherever God leads. The Deiblers struggle to follow God's leading in a land where they face many trials and tribulations that come in the form of disappointments, disease, and injury.
Darlene's story is that of a young women with uncommon strength, which she gives wholehearted credit to God for. When the Japanese take over New Guinea, her resourcefulness comes into play and she is forced to make do with what she has.
She and her husband are eventually arrested by Japanese soldiers and accused of being spies. They are seperated and that is the last time Darlene ever saw her husband in her lifetime. He died in the Japanese prison camp.
Darlene, on the other hand is eventually delivered from her fate of being executed by Japanese soldiers for the false crime. Her book tells of the courage and faith she was forced to find in her Savior during the grueling months in the jungle prison camp. Her God-founded courage enables her to serve those around her with love and diligence, actions that could get her executed.
She is the epitome of faith and love towards enemies in the realm of Japanese prison camps. Like another famous woman, Corrie ten Boom (pronounced "Bohm"), she finds the courage to go in the face of great trials and tribulations. Her story is not one widely known, but I believe it is just as important as the more widely known ten Boom story.
A qoute taken from her book sums up Darlene's life and story almost perfectly. She notes at the bottom of the page that this was a valuable spiritual lesson taught her by the Lord and the war.
" 'Lord I believe all that the Bible says. I do walk by faith and not by sight. I do not need to feel You near because Your Word says You will never leave me nor forsake me. Lord, I confirm my faith, I believe.' The words of Hebrews 11:1 welled up, unbeckoned, to fill my mind: 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' The evidence of things not seen. Evidence not seen- that was what I put my trust in- not in feelings or moments of ecstasy, but in the unchanging Person of Jesus Christ."
I highly encourage every one of you to read Evidence Not Seen and to learn from it the lessons in faith and courage that Darlene has to impart upon you. This book has been a challenge to me that when I face trials, I might have the faith and courage to go on. I pray that it will have the same effect on you.
I would like to add something else to this post that really has nothing to do with the post above.
My sister Ruby Mae has recently started a blog of her own, and I encourage you to visit it (and maybe even subscribe for the opportunity of recieving tried and true recipes from our family collection!)
Here is the link to her blog: rubymaesrecipes.mystrikingly.com.
