Being thankful

One of my favourite books is "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. It's her account of life in a concentration camp during the second world war.

She tells of how they were moved to a new camp, and their living space was totally crawling with fleas. For her, it felt like the last straw in what was an already horrific experience. Her sister however was determined to trust God in the midst of it all and convinced Corrie to thank God for the fleas. So they prayed, despite Corrie's reluctance.

To her surprise, they later discovered that the reason the guards left them alone so often, was because of the fleas - they didn't want to go near them! So God blessed them in this unexpected way.

This story has been on my mind lately, as there is so much I can grumble about - getting woken up 3 times a night when I'm already exhausted, dealing with lots of poopy nappies, dogs who howl when they hear the baby monitor making noises! I've been making a conscious effort to thank God for these things, even though I'm not enjoying them at all.

I realised today that God is blessing me through these things - for example, I realised that Saffy can hear the monitor when I can't (eg if I'm outside) and so if Hamish starts crying, so will Saffy, alerting me that Hamish is awake! Without her, I could be happily hanging out the washing or something without realising Hamish needs attention.

And when he wakes up and cries, although it means more work for me, it is so reassuring to hear him and know he's alive.

Reminds me of one of my favourite bible verses: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28