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Thank God for the Fleas!
Posted by Pat on November 11, 2012 in Uncategorized | ∞
I love this time of year! It’s the season we focus on being grateful. The harvest is in and the blessings abound!
And it’s easy to be grateful for the sunshine, the good things, plenty of food, meeting our budget, and compliant children.
But what about the storms, the money running out before the end of the month, the kids pushing our boundaries? Sometimes it’s very difficult to be grateful when we can’t see the blessings in the circumstances.
There is an emotion-touching story that Corrie ten Boom, 
a survivor of imprisonment during World War II shared in her book, The Hiding Place. She found a vital link between gratitude and trust, though at first the trust came hard.
a survivor of imprisonment during World War II shared in her book, The Hiding Place. She found a vital link between gratitude and trust, though at first the trust came hard.Corrie and her sister Betsie had been arrested in Holland for trying to help Jews escape the Holocaust. They ended up in one of the most infamous Nazi concentration camps, Ravensbruck, built to hold 400 prisoners, but holding 1400 women in the one-room building.
Living conditions were insufferable. The women were housed on dirty, flea-infested straw that was strewn on wooden platforms. And the fleas feasted night and day.
If it hadn’t been for their Bible and the comfort the sisters were able to take from Betsie’s reading, Corrie didn’t know how they could have survived from day to day. If the guards had ventured into the room they would have discovered the forbidden Bible. Not only would it have been confiscated, but the consequences would have been brutal. Over and over, the two sisters wondered about the mystery of why the guards never inspected their barracks.
One morning Betsie read the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that said, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” She insisted they put this into practice, feeling certain that giving thanks was the answer to their suffering.
As Corrie tells the story, her sister named a litany of things they needed to thank God for-from the amazing circumstance that enabled the sisters to stay together, to the Bible she held in her hands, to the other women in the camp.
But when Betsie began to thank God for the suffocating room and finally for the fleas, Corrie balked. It seemed impossible to Corrie to find anything for which to thank God in the deprivation of the concentration camp.
But Betsie insisted, reminding Corrie that God said, “In all circumstances.” Corrie recalled standing in that room with all the other women, thanking God for the fleas and being certain that, for once, Betsie was wrong.
Yet that prayer proved to be a turning point for the women. Their circumstances hadn’t changed, but their attitude did. Betsie and Corrie began to connect more strongly with the other women imprisoned there. It wasn’t until much later that Corrie discovered the reason the dreaded inspection never happened and their beloved Bible remained undiscovered. It was the same reason she and Betsie were never stopped from having their much-anticipated Bible studies.
The fleas!
The guards refused to set foot into those barracks because of the out-of-control flea infestation! When Betsie took God at his word and thanked Him in all circumstances, she had no idea those fleas were actually a gift from God.
Where in your life have you found
the blessing in the trials or tribulations you faced?
I know that when I was divorced, I was devastated. With two youngsters and limited resources I felt overwhelmed.
But looking back I later realized the blessings that came for me: I learned:
But looking back I later realized the blessings that came for me: I learned:- how resilient I was,
- how capable of handling what came my way,
- and how clear I now was on what I would not settle for in the future.
I grew, I learned, I found not only satisfaction but joy in my discoveries of my previously hidden talents!
I’d love to hear what gifts you have found from your less-than-desirable circumstances! How have you handled them? How surprised where you when you realized there were gifts?!
4 Comments
Great story showing in real life,that we need to trust greater when things are not to our liking. It might feel as if you have no control and you become victimized. The real truth is that when we trust, we are empowering ourselves and can move forward!
Esther,
Thanks for sharing that trusting when it’s the most difficult is definitely the most empowering!
During mom’s descent into Alzheimer’s, which was hard on the entire family, we three daughters found a way to pull together and reach consensus. We found better, smoother ways of interacting with one another and with both our parents. We became closer as siblings, and more respectful of one another. I suspect it may not have happened that way amongst us if Alzheimer’s hadn’t shown up to test us all. Alzheimer’s and fleas – guess they have something in common!
Fay,
What a vivid example you’ve shared! When we look for the gifts in the circumstances, we are reminded that there is a greater perspective than the one we first experience. And that greater perspective often includes surprising blessings!