Thank you Lord....for lice?

Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus our Lord - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Corrie ten Boom was a well known evangelist who spent many years of her life in a German concentration camp during World War II. One time the barrack which she and her sister were assigned had an outbreak of lice. She recalls it being absolutely dreadful, with no remedy offered to them by the soldiers. Because the outbreak was so bad, the guards who usually came to check on them refused to enter their barrack for fear of contaminating themselves. Without this constant supervision, Corrie and her sister were freely open to share the gospel with many of their roommates who had never heard it before. After seeing the Spirit move among the women, Corrie and her sister realized that the lice outbreak was part of God's plan to reach these women and they joyfully thanked Him for the lice, despite it's discomfort.

This week I had to meditate on that story time and time again as I picked through my daughter Abbey's hair for lice and nits. I can handle most things, but lice really grosses me out! They are such a hassle and if you don't get them all the first time, you will constantly be battling them! Yuck! Anyways, trying not to feel defeated nor discouraged I decided to follow God's Word and Corrie's story and be thankful for the lice situation in our home. So here is my thank you to God in the midst of my lice crisis:

Thank you Lord for allowing Abbey to bump her head at school so we had to take her to the doctor and that this lice was detected before it got REALLY bad. (Yes, her head is fine)

Thank you Lord that no one else in the family seems to have gotten the lice.

Thank you Lord for providing my Ayi who helped take care of all the washing, vaccuming and cleaning while I picked at Abbey's head for hours on end.

Thank you Lord for the fatigue I felt at the end of each day so that when I went to bed I fell right to sleep and did not ponder or worry about the entire situation!

Thank you Lord for allowing us to already have the Tea Tree shampoo that so many recommend to fight off the lice (and that you cannot get in China).

Thank you Lord that this crisis kept me at home and gave me the opportunity to get other things done that I needed to accomplish.

Thank you Lord that my husband was on a business trip so he didn't receive any of the "stuff" I probably would have dished out to him during my angst!

Thank you Lord that you are bigger than lice and that You have a purpose in all of this!

It's not easy giving thanks in every circumstance but I'm learning to do just that. We are doing better now but this will be our battle for the next few weeks. Joy! So whatever your circumstances may be now, I hope you'll be able to face them with a heart of thankfulness and at least be thankful you don't have lice! Take care....