Even the Lice

There is a wonderful movie called "The Hiding Place." If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's the true story of two Christian sisters (Betty & Corrie ten Boom) who were sent to the concentration camps because their family helped hide the Jews from the Nazi's. There is one line in the movie that never leaves me.

Corrie and Betty were confined to a cabin that was filled with lice. Betty tried to encourage all of the women to be thankful to God for everything, and even in the worst conditions they should be able to find something to be thankful for. Corrie said, “I'll be thankful for a lot of things but not the lice.” Not too long after this pep talk, the women learned that, because their cabin was full of lice, the guards would not go in the cabin nor touch any of the women. They were afraid of getting lice. When the women heard this, they were immediately thankful. Betty and Corrie smiled and Betty yells, “Corrie, even the lice!” Corrie smiles and says, "even the lice."

I've had some terrible things happen in my life but nothing like surviving a concentration camp. Women like Betty and Corrie inspire me greatly. After seeing this movie several times, I remember enduring some difficult days and telling myself, "You can do anything for one day. You are not living in a concentration camp so suck it up and find something to be thankful for." I would repeat that every day until I could see light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes a little perspective is all it takes to keep you moving forward through the hard times until they pass. And they always pass.

As I look back to those days that I wished were not so hard, I realized that difficulty does me a great service. Life happens, deserving or undeserving of pain, it's coming. My faith in Christ pushed me through every hardship so far and it will push me through the next one too. No one wishes for bad times but when you know they are coming, why not be prepared?

If you have given your life to Christ then in every situation, these 3 things hold true for you:

1. You belong to Christ, not your circumstance.

2. The Lord is working all things for your good.

3. You can endure anything for one day.

If you have not given your life to Christ, I recommend you do. You're whole life is waiting for you.

Don't miss the blessing by trying to quickly forget the bad times. Instead take hold of those times, see them clearly and soberly, then tell yourself that you were a victor in Christ rather than a victim to pity. By remembering every good that came out of every bad, you can be thankful.

"Even for the lice."

-Shauna