“Why would God create such unnecessary pests that torment us?” This was the phrase our family repeated countless times over the past few weeks, grumbling as we endured the chaos brought on by bedbugs.

A few weeks ago, our second daughter returned from a business trip out of state, having unknowingly brought bedbugs from the hotel where she stayed. These pests typically live in mattresses and are transmitted through travelers. It’s said that after feeding on human blood for just five minutes, a bedbug can survive for over six months without another meal. Since the global ban on DDT over fifty years ago, bedbugs have multiplied across the United States at an alarming rate—reportedly increasing by over 500 times annually. The cost of extermination is no small matter; once they invade, people often have to discard beds, clothing, and furniture entirely.

Our second daughter, fiercely independent, had been enjoying her single life in a home she purchased and lovingly maintained. But suddenly, she was covered in bites, as if she’d endured a bout of measles. She had to abandon her cherished belongings and take refuge in our home for several weeks with her cat. Her emotional stress bordered on terror. I, too, began to fear—what if she and the cat had brought the bugs into our house?

Following the advice of a bedbug specialist, our entire family launched into emergency mode. We washed everything washable in hot water, dried items at high heat, disassembled every bed for steam treatment, bathed the bewildered cat morning and night, sprayed chemicals… It felt like the greatest upheaval since the Korean War.

Though the ordeal was exhausting, spiritually it became a time of gain rather than loss. Through it, I was convicted of how numb I had become to God’s daily grace. Had I ever imagined bedbugs crawling somewhere in my home? Had I ever gone to bed worrying about being bitten? I had always taken peaceful sleep for granted.

When life is calm, how often do we recognize that peace as a gift from God? As the saying goes, “The most precious things cannot be bought with money.” The treasures we overlook—family love and care, neighbors, the changing seasons, the affection of pets, smiles, prayers, the church and its members—are all gifts of grace we live among daily, though we often fail to see them without a spiritual microscope.

For years, Americans have said to their children at bedtime, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” In life, too, we face sudden trials and pains—like bedbugs—that disrupt everything. Life becomes chaotic and frightening. But in such times, grasping God’s hand is the wisest and most faithful way forward. It is, I believe, the truest form of bedbug extermination.