Thank God for... Fleas?

"' Give thanks in all circumstances,'" she quoted.  "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.'  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us." - Betsie Ten Boom

I just finished reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, and wow! What a remarkable story of home and courage in one of the absolute worst times in human history.  Corrie and her family were Christians harboring Jews in their home in Holland during Nazi occupation.  It's an incredible story of God's faithfulness proven over and over through a vitamin bottle that never emptied, a Bible miraculously smuggled, and what some would call a lot of "lucky coincidences," but I honestly don't think luck or coincidence has anything to do with it.  

Now back to the fleas.  After being arrested, imprisoned, and transported like animals, Corrie, along with her older sister, Betsie, find themselves in the barracks of Ravensbruck, a women's extermination camp in Germany.  Within the first few minutes, Corrie cries out covered in fleas.  There are fleas everywhere in the room.  Corrie asks her sister how they can possibly live like this.  

After a prayer, Betsie reminds Corrie we are to "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances."  (1 Thessalonians 5)

One by one, Betsie and Corrie make a list of all the things they are grateful for, and they say prayers of thanks to God.  They are together.  They have a Bible.  They have an opportunity to witness to countless women.  Then Betsie thanked God for - of all things - the FLEAS!!  Obviously, Betsie was a better woman than me.  I agree with Corrie when she says, "Not even God can make me grateful for a flea."

The two sisters start a Bible study in the barracks.  Corrie calls them "little previews of heaven."  There are so many women from various countries that language barriers are a problem, but Corrie and Betsie translate their Dutch Bible into German, and they can hear it being passed back in French, Polish, Russian, and other languages.  Oh, how beautiful that must have been.  But as they get bolder and bolder with the Bible study, they cannot figure out why they have not been caught.  They are under strict supervision everywhere with the exception of the barracks.  Why?  

The next chapter reveals the answer.  FLEAS!  The guards never step foot in the building because of the fleas!!  But even before they know this, Betsie and a very reluctant Corrie had given thanks for that mean little booger, the flea.  


What are the "fleas" in my life that I can be thankful for?

Broccoli.  I hate broccoli.  But I put some in my chicken Alfredo, it is almost bearable... with extra sauce.  What I'm super thankful for is asparagus and zucchini - the two veggies I really love.  Dirty dishes.  I haven't had a dishwasher in over 5 years, and washing dishes by hand gets really annoying.  But dirty dishes mean I have plenty of food and a sweet husband that loves to cook - that is what I am most thankful for.  Laundry.  It never ends!!  But I have plenty of clothes, and for that, I am thankful.  That person in my life that I am not overly fond of.  I have to believe they are in my life - whether I want them there or not - for a purpose.  And if God is using me for a purpose and plan even that I don't see or understand, I am grateful.  Rent.  After the storm, our rent was raised along with most everyone else's.  But I have a home when a lot of people do not have one right now.

Let me get extra real.  Failure.  I am thankful for failure - okay not always, but when I can calm down and think long enough - I am thankful for failure because it means I'm trying.  I'm thankful for when I am tired.  That means I'm trying.  

Would you like to know the weirdest thing I am thankful for?  Sand in my shower.  I know.  Weird.  But when you have always, always, always wanted to live at the beach.  I am thankful for being able to live here and for every minute I am able to spend on the beach so yes, I am thankful for the sand in my shower because it means I got to spend time at my happy place.  

And the list goes on.  

What are the "fleas" in your life right now?  Make a list and thank God for each of those things.  Then leave a comment.  I'm curious to see other's answers.