A couple weeks ago I read The Hiding Place for school. I wasn't particularly excited about it- I guess it's because of my pet peeve about overquoted, over-referenced books. I'm not sure. But anyways, I picked it up, trudged through the first few chapters (which were very slow), and eventually hit a turning point.


My point of conviction came about 3/4 of the way through the book. Corrie and Betsie are spending their first night at the concentration camp in an overcrowded, filthy, flea-infested barracks. They're praying, thanking God for each annoyance, inconvenience and opportunity. And then Betsie gets to the fleas. Corrie refuses point-blank to be thankful for fleas, and by this time I'm almost agreeing with her. I even had the fleeting thought, "Betsie, you've gone over the edge. Just chill out. You don't need to thank Jesus for the fleas. Just thank Him that He's dedicated to fashioning you into His likeness, and leave it at that."


Turns out that because of the fleas (and only because of the fleas), the guards never entered the barracks at all. Corrie and Betsie were able to hold nightly prayer meetings without ever coming close to being caught.


Not only was I a tad bit embarrassed, but it started me think-praying (or whatever it is I do)...and asking a lot of questions: Should I be that specific in giving thanks all the time? I've always understood "give thanks in all circumstances" to mean that our attitude is to be one of gratefulness towards the Lord in all situations, because of who He is, not necessarily because we are actually thankful for all the nitty-gritty details...I don't think I've reached a solid conclusion yet. So, I'm still in the process of assembling all my thoughts, but if anyone has any of their own to add, then go for it =D.