Even the Fleas


Couldn't leave my blog on the sour note of my last post. Life is good. Really, it is. Yes, there are those seasons where I can't seem to see past the clouds, where I am consciously choosing to be thankful when really I'm not. But truly, we are SO blessed. I know this, even inside the sandwich of my life right now, when all three of my babies are sick with colds and fevers, and I feel like I'm recovering from cabin fever. We have our health. Having the sniffles does not qualify as being unhealthy. There are those who are permanently disabled or who have chronic, even terminal illnesses. We have our health.

Really, we have so much for which to be grateful. We have a roof over our heads and a job with which to pay for said roof. We have clothes that keep us warm. My oldest is enjoying the privilege of a free education. We have a means with which to buy whatever we need, whenever we so desire, and my children never go hungry. Indeed, I could stand to lose 10 pounds. Really, we live like kings -- all of us in this country. My husband, who's been to India and China (and 19 other countries), often says that even the poor in our country are blessed compared to the poor in other countries. We are such an affluent nation. We don't even know the abundance of goodness we enjoy, goodness beyond the material -- freedom of religion, speech, the press. We take these freedoms for granted; at least I do.

A good friend called me yesterday and reminded me of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom who were being eaten by fleas in their bunkhouse in Ravensbruck, a Nazi concentration camp in Germany. Betsie insisted on thanking God for everything, even the fleas. However, Corrie initially resisted this. They were being eaten alive in their hard straw beds every night by these tiny bloodsuckers. How could she be thankful for them? It wasn't until later that Betsie found out the reason they were able to hold Bible studies in their bunkroom without being caught; the guards always avoided their bunkhouse because of those fleas.

My rich, full, abundantly blessed life cannot even begin to compare to the abject suffering and torture that these amazing women of faith experienced in these camps. Betsie even lost her life. When I think of how truly blessed I am, I become completely and utterly humbled and convicted. I have so much for which to be thankful.

Even I can praise Him for the fleas.

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