Thankful for the Fleas
An Unconventional Lesson in Gratitude
Yes, you read that right. Fleas.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. What in the world do fleas have to do with gratitude?
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we tend to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. We’re trying to plan out a delicious holiday menu that stays within budget and caters to everyone’s dietary restrictions. We’re trying to expertly configure who is going to whose house this year and when. Maybe we’ve got little ones in tow who will have to do with a nap or without a nap or will need extra naps just to get through the weekend. Maybe we’re required to travel long distances. Maybe we’ll have to see family members we just don’t like that much. And of course, don’t forget Black Friday!
Whatever it looks like for you this year, there is probably going to be some point in the days leading up to Thanksgiving where you’re going to feel stressed. Annoyed. Frustrated. As most of us do.
But in the midst of the chaos and clamor, as you gather with family and friends around the table and endure the hullabaloo, I would like you to remember a story.
This story comes from a favorite book of mine called The Hiding Place, the autobiographical account of an incredibly courageous woman named Cornelia ten Boom. Corrie, along with her family, were able to offer countless Jewish people an escape during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940 by opening their their home as a refuge, a hiding place, even though it could (and eventually did) mean their capture.
After being arrested by the Gestapo in 1944, Corrie and her sister Betsie eventually wound up together in Ravensbrück, a German concentration camp. While there, they saw and endured many horrors and hardships, beyond what we could begin to imagine. But time after time, God proved that He was with them, providing Himself as their hiding place.
When they entered Ravensbrück , Corrie and Betsie were immediately shown the overcrowded barracks that were to become their new home. Instead of one or two in a twin sized bed, six or more were expected to pack together. As the sisters tried to make themselves comfortable, squeezing onto the prickly straw mattress, they began to feel small pricks. Bites. Fleas! The beds were infested.
When Corrie began to despair on how they could survive in such a place, Betsie reminded her of a portion of the passage they had read just that morning during their daily devotional:
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 (NLT):
“Always be joyful.
Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
“That’s it, Corrie,” cried Betsie. “That’s His answer. Give thanks in all circumstances. We can thank God for every single thing about this new barracks.” (Corrie Ten Boom et al., 1974).
They began to do just that. They thanked God that they had been assigned together; they thanked God that He had helped them smuggle a Bible into the camp; they even thanked God that they were in such tightly packed quarters…imagine all of the women who would now be introduced to the Gospel!
When Betsie joyfully uttered, “And thank you, Lord for the fleas,” Corrie paused. The fleas?
Surely God would not expect her to be grateful for the tiny, nagging, biting fleas! (Corrie Ten Boom et al., 1974).
But this was Betsie’s reply: “Give thanks in all circumstances. It doesn’t say ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”(Corrie Ten Boom et al., 1974).
As they began to share God’s word with their fellow prisoners, Corrie and Betsie wondered why the guards seemed to leave them alone. They were never caught during their nightly Bible studies. A few weeks following their arrival, the sisters were reunited with a friend they had made in another camp. While discussing the mystery of the guards, she revealed the answer: the fleas.
The guards knew the barracks were infested with fleas and refused to enter. God had a plan, even for those annoying little creatures.
This Thanksgiving season, what is your flea? What is that thing that nags, annoys, or frustrates you? That needles and pokes and makes you feel that you could just pull your hair out? Maybe it’s something that seems to hit only around the holidays. Or maybe it’s a year-long struggle.
Do you know what happens to our brains when we complain?
- It causes the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory, to shrink;
- It causes the release of cortisol, the “stress” hormone, causing us to stay in a constant state of fight-or-flight, which ultimately leads to anxiety and depression;
- It creates neural pathways for negative thinking, meaning the more we complain, the more negative thinking becomes our normal.
Wow! If complaining can have such an impact on our brains, imagine how much more we need to practice gratitude daily; not just for the things we do like, but also for the things we don’t!
I once read a beautiful quote that says, “A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.” (Anonymous)
When we begin to give thanks in all circumstances, not just pleasant ones, it allows us to see the little miracles God is doing daily in our lives. It can completely change our focus and approach to life. It can combat the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual side effects that grumbling and complaining have on us. Gratitude in all situations can literally transform how we react to those unpleasant circumstances. It can become the breeding ground for abundant, overflowing, unexplainable joy. The joy that Jesus desires for us to possess as His children. Not because everything is going the “right” way. But because we trust that it is going His way.
As the holidays come and go, I hope you will join me in reframing your thoughts about those pesky little annoyances. After all, they might just be little blessings in disguise.
Works cited
Corrie Ten Boom, Sherrill, E., & Sherrill, J. L. (1974). The hiding place : by Corrie ten Boom, with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. Bantam. https://www.christianbook.com/...
