Thanks for the fleas!

Corrie Ten Boom a Dutch woman, in The Hiding Place relates an incident that taught her always to be thankful. She and her sister Betsy, had been transferred to the worst German prison camp they seen yet, Ravensbruck. On entering the barracks, they found them extremely over-crowded and flea-infested. Fourteen hundred prisoners were crammed into a barracks designed to sleep four hundred people.

That morning they had read a section in the Bible from 1 Thessalonians that had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly and give thanks in ALL circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and give thanks to God for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas! However, Betsy persisted, and Corrie finally succumbed to her pleadings. During the ensuing months that they spent in the torturous conditions in the camp, they were surprise to find how much freedom they had each evening in the barracks. They were able to study the Bible and conduct prayer meetings without any interference from the guards. It was not until several months later that they learned the reason the guards would not enter the barracks was because of the fleas!

Peter Morphew
Chaplain