Thankful for Fleas: The Ten Boom Sisters
"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is 'good,' because it is good, if 'bad,' because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country." —C. S. Lewis
The Flea-Infested Barracks
When the ten Boom sisters arrived at a new concentration camp during World War II, they were horrified by the overcrowded barracks—and even more so by the fact that the place was swarming with fleas. Corrie wondered aloud how they could possibly survive in such conditions.
Her older sister Betsie said that God had already given them the answer in His Word. She told Corrie to re-read the passage from their morning Bible reading—First Thessalonians chapter five.
Give Thanks in All Things
Corrie opened their precious Bible and came to verses 16 through 18: "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
Betsie’s face lit up. “That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer—'Give thanks in all circumstances!' We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
Gratitude for the Unthinkable
Corrie looked around her. THe baraks were cold, filthy, overcrowded and infested. “Such as?” she asked skeptically.
Betsie smiled and began listing blessings: that they had been assigned together, that they were able to keep their Bible, and that there were so many women who would be able to hear God’s Word.
Then Betsie gave thanks for the fleas.
The fleas? Corrie thought.
“Betsie,” she said, “there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“‘Give thanks in all circumstances,’” Betsie replied. “It doesn’t say ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
So the sisters gave thanks for the fleas. But Corrie felt sure that this time, Betsie was wrong.
God’s Hidden Purpose
As the days passed, the sisters endured grueling labor and harsh treatment. But each night, the women in their barracks gathered around to hear Scripture read aloud. They were grateful for the freedom to study God’s Word together, yet puzzled why the guards never stopped them.
One day, the answer became clear. Betsie had overheard the reason: the guards refused to enter the barracks because of the fleas.
The very thing Corrie thought was unbearable—the fleas—had been the means by which God protected them and allowed the gospel to flourish inside those dark walls.
God Uses Everything
Even the fleas had a purpose. Even the worst circumstances are not beyond God’s power to redeem. As it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Corrie eventually saw what Betsie had seen all along: that God can use even the most miserable of things to accomplish something beautiful.
Scripture References
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 — “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks...”
- Romans 8:28 — “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God...”
- Philippians 4:6 — “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”