QUOTE : FLEAS AND OTHER BLESSINGS Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Romans 11:34 One of the first movies I saw was The Hiding Place. It changed my life. The movie, a true story, is about Corrie ten Boom and her sister, who were put into the Ravensbruck Nazi concentration camp after they were caught hiding Jews. Somehow, they managed to sneak in a Bible, which they read repeatedly for comfort and guidance. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus,” Betsy read aloud. Then she looked around the grimy place and suggested they thank God that she and Corrie were in the same barracks, that the barracks were crowded—so that they could tell more people about Christ—that they had a Bible, and even for the fleas that infested their barracks. That last part was too much. Corrie emphatically told her sister that even God couldn’t make her thankful for disgusting fleas! The sisters began holding open Bible studies there in the middle of a Nazi concentration camp, leading numerous people to Christ. Mysteriously, the guards never entered their barracks, which meant their Bible studies could go on uninterrupted. And the young women were inexplicably untouched when others around them were assaulted. Only later did they learn why they were left alone: the guards kept a safe distance from them because they didn’t want to get fleas. SWEET FREEDOM IN Action Today, make a gratitude list . . . and don’t leave anything off.