Pastor's Blog

Thankful for fleas?

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Pastor Tom

Thanksgiving weekend is here (in Canada!). It’s a time to reflect that for which I have to be thankful. It’s a pleasant exercise when things are going well. It’s a helpful practice when I take for granted many blessings.

But what about when things are going lousy? I know, I know. We can always find something to be thankful for in the middle of tough times. But what about the tough times themselves. Should we be thankful FOR them? Cancer? Work Stress? Death of a loved one? Loss of job? Relationship Problems?

The immediate answer is NO! And it is true; many of these trials were not part of God’s original creation. I also want to avoid fatalism and any sort of masochistic (enjoying self pain) tendencies.

I was pretty convinced I had the 100% correct answer to this until I read Ephesians 5:20 in the Bible – “always giving thanks FOR everything. And then I read “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom. She and her family hid Jews from the Nazis in World War 2 Holland. Eventually, they were betrayed. The Nazis arrested them. Her father died in a hospital hallway.

She and her sister Betsy ended up at the Ravensbruck concentration camp for women. Corrie was incredibly frustrated and anxious. She was sick of Betty’s positive attitude. Things got worse when they were moved to a barracks infested with fleas. Betty said they must always be thankful even for these fleas.

Corrie threw up her arms in frustration. “I will never be thankful for fleas.” But they also had smuggled a Bible in with them. They hosted a Bible Study whenever they could. But the guards avoided their barracks because of the fleas.

Corrie never forgot that. Even though Betsy died there, Corrie worked through that challenge of thanksgiving for something difficult for the rest of her days. May I capture something from her incredible story this weekend.

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