March 2-3 – Scatch the Itch

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want”. Psalm 34:7-9

How do you deal with your grotty, miserable days? I, like Barbara Lardinais like to bury my head in a good book – guaranteed to take my mind to a different level and send the blues flying away.

In Barbara's case, the book she selected from the shelf in her library was The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. It had been some twenty years earlier that Barbara had read this remarkable, true story of Corrie and her sister Betsie's time in a Nazi concentration camp. Corrie and Betsie were sentenced for hiding Jews in their home during World War11. If you haven't read it, do. It is hard to find a greater testimony of faith, trust, and commitment to God under the most cruel, brutal treatment they received twenty-four hours of every day.

Barbara picks up, in the book, “…. a little incident about fleas that is worth repeating. Corrie and her sister had miraculously smuggled a Bible into their barracks and they were holding nightly worship services for hundreds of women. One night in their private devotional time they were reading this passage in I Thessalonians; “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances”. Betsie immediately felt that giving thanks in their current condition was God’s answer to how they could survive each miserable day.”

Despite her strong faith, “Corrie was doubtful but went along as Betsie began thanking God for EVERYTHING. But when Betsie thanked God for the horrible infestation of fleas they were living with, Corrie felt that went too far. At Betsie’s insistence, she finally managed to choke out her “thank you” but felt Betsie was dead wrong to give thanks for fleas.

In the meanwhile, their little congregation grew and grew and as no guards ever bothered them, they became bolder and finally started a second service after the evening roll call. Months went by until one afternoon Betsie found out why they were left to operate their makeshift church without interference. It was the fleas. When asked to settle a dispute, the guard refused to enter the door to their dormitory. She said; “That place is crawling with fleas!”

So the fleas were a blessing after all and God used them to make room for worship inside one of the worst hell holes on earth. When viewed from that perspective, Corrie could finally see a reason to thank God in all circumstances. Each of us would be wise to follow her example.

We are human, and there are times when we choke on the thought of giving thanks for many of the circumstances we find ourselves in, but how do we know what hidden blessings are in our own “fleas”?

With Barbara, right now, I urge us to pick the hardest, most unlikely thing in your own life and thank God for it. We may not see it right away but a time will come when God will turn it into a blessing – just like those blessed fleas.

(Acknowledgements Barbara Lardinais, Hannah's Cupboard)

Click on the picture for today's music - “The Promise” presented by The Martins.