Thankful for Lice

Last week I discovered that I had head lice. It had already been a pretty overwhelming week, so the lice sort of put me over the edge. I felt icky and frustrated and ended up having a good cry.

Immediately after realizing I had lice, a particular scene from one of my favorite books came to mind. The book is called The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, and it relates her and her family's story of faith during World War II and the Holocaust. They felt it was their duty as Christians to hide jews from the Nazis in their home. They were eventually found out, causing the Nazis to send the whole family off to concentration camps along with their Jewish friends. Corrie and her sister Betsie eventually ended up in the same barracks at a harsh extermination camp in Germany called Ravensbruck. Despite the many hardships and dreadful conditions, they shared the bible with many other prisoners, bringing the hope and light of Christ into the darkness.

Despite being stripped down to nothing and being heavily searched, God miraculously helped Corrie to sneak her small bible past the guards. Shortly after arriving at Ravensbruck, the sisters were assigned to the same barracks. The place was nasty - dark, filled with a rotting stench, and swarming with fleas. In their frustration, the sisters were reminded of the bible passage that they had read earlier that morning. "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). They decided that God was calling them to give thanks for every aspect of their new barracks, even the fleas. At first Corrie thought it was ridiculous to be thankful for the fleas, but little did she know how thankful they would be. Due to the serious flea infestation, the guards never visited their barracks. Because there was little to no surveillance, Corrie and Betsie were able to hold multiple bible studies each day. The fleas had truly turned out to be a huge blessing!

Now, when I discovered my lice friends, I definitely was not feeling very thankful. I felt annoyed and frustrated and dirty and upset. But as I reflected on this scene and the verse from Thessalonians, God slowly started to change my heart. As my roommate picked through my hair, a subtle smile came to my face. I felt so thankful to have such an amazing friend that was willing to pick lice and nits out of my hair. We were already close, but this unique event brought us even closer. The next day I was supposed to go to a sleepover with some of the women from the ministry. I felt gross and didn't want to infect anyone else with my friends, so I decided not to go. But when I told the girls why I didn't want to go, they insisted that I change my mind. The evening of the sleepover, it poured rain, deterring many of the women from coming. I was the first to arrive and the gracious host and her daughter offered to inspect my scalp. For at least half an hour, I laid on her bed, with my head in her lap, as they patiently combed through my hair. Once again, a wave of thankfulness washed over me. Not only were they not grossed out by my unfortunate situation, but they were eager to serve me in such an intimate way. We too were brought to a deeper level of friendship.

So while I have much work to do in my heart before I can honestly give thanks in every circumstance, today I feel thankful (at least a tad) for head lice. This is God's will for me in Christ Jesus. And while head lice didn't seem like such a great thing at first, the Lord has shown me the hidden blessing.