God's Fleas
…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were courageous, compassionate Dutch Christians who helped harbor Jews from the Nazis during World War 2. After the sisters were arrested for doing so, they were imprisoned at Ravensbruck, a German concentration camp.
In their barracks, they were shown to a series of massive square platforms, stacked three levels high and placed so close together that people had to walk single file to pass between them. Rancid straw was scattered over the platforms, which served as communal beds for hundreds of women.
Corrie and Betsie found they could not sit upright on their own platform without hitting their heads on the deck above them. They lay back, struggling against nausea that swept over them from the reeking straw.
Suddenly Corrie gave a start, striking her head on the cross-slats above. Something had bitten her leg.
“Fleas!” she cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!”
Descending from the platform and edging down a narrow aisle, they made their way to a patch of light.
“Here! And here’s another one!” Corrie wailed. “Betsie, how can we live in such a place?”
The fleas were everywhere, making everyone uncomfortable with their constant biting.
Shortly thereafter, Betsie read a verse from the Bible that said to give thanks in all circumstances. She then told her sister that they needed to give thanks for the fleas.
Corrie admitted later that as she listened to her sister, she thought the idea was a stretch. However, at night as they huddled together to read from a Bible they were able to get past the guards, they wanted to follow the words that they had read. So together they gave thanks, even for the fleas.
Blessings in Disguise
During the day, the sisters would be on work details. Betsie worked hard to stay thankful during their entire ordeal, whether in the dorm or in the field. She would give thanks that she was with Corrie. She would thank God that they shared the same dorm. She would give thanks for the opportunity to share Christ with the other prisoners.
Corrie followed along at her sister’s prodding and found that eventually she too was able to give thanks in the middle of the pain of daily life in the concentration camp.
In her very moving memoir, The Hiding Place, she writes about coming back to the barracks after a long day of work. It was cold and snowing outside, yet she found Betsie inside smiling.
“I’ve found out,” her sister said. “About what?” Corrie wondered.
“Why we have had so much freedom here in this place.”
Betsie then went on to tell her sister that there had been a commotion at the work site and a supervisor was sent to the barracks to get to the bottom of things.
“But she wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why? Because of the fleas!”
No guards would find their Bible, their prayer group, their quiet and supportive conversations, all because they would not enter the dorm due to those tiny insects.
Corrie concluded, “My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie’s bowed head, remembered her giving thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for.”
It was a pivotal moment for her faith. She learned to give thanks in all things and to trust at all times that the things that seem to have no redeeming qualities might actually be God’s blessings in disguise.
Give thanks in all things and trust at all times that the things that seem to have no redeeming qualities might actually be God’s blessings in disguise.
Do You Have Fleas?
My guess is that in this unique Thanksgiving season, you don’t lack for “fleas” – those things that are irritating if not outright painful. Yet those things are part of the “in all circumstances” in which we’re challenged to give thanks.
Perhaps one day you will discover the redeeming qualities of your “fleas.” Yet, even if you don’t, such an expression of thanksgiving reflects a heart of trust that God is pleased with.
PRAYER
Lord, it’s easy to give thanks when things are going well and I can count my blessings one by one. However, I struggle to do so when things are not going so well. Help me to broaden my thanksgiving to include those things as well, trusting that You are good all the time and in all circumstances.
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