Originally published Monday, 19 January 2015.
Has sickness swept through your house recently? Read on and find out:
* What hope-filled lesson can you learn about God when your children are sick?
* As you wipe runny noses and tend to others, who is caring for you?
Recently both kids were sick. The doctor said that it was viral, so all I could do was address the symptoms and wait for them to get better. Inevitably, they would both be crying for something at the same time. Both looked so helpless with fevers and runny noses. I wanted to scoop them into my arms all of the time. But the reality is that I was constantly prioritizing. I had to rate who had the most pressing need, help that child first, and then go to the other. I found myself explaining to each what I had to do for the other while they were waiting. I am not sure how much my littler one understood my explanations, but I noticed that he did calm to the sound of my voice.
I couldn't help but wonder about the resonances of this experience in our own faith lives. How often do we come to God with pressing needs, waiting for God to answer them. Sometimes we do not get what we want right away; sometimes we have to wait. We can listen to God's words in scripture to know his promises, and the sound of God's voice through the Spirit may calm us a while. But we really have no idea what God is juggling. I had my hands full with two children. God holds all of creation in his hands as he seeks to tend and nurture it. And you can bet that God desires to wipe every tear from our eyes too.
I have a new appreciation for God's love. And an awe, really, for we know that all things work for good for those who love God. The fact that every single believer can rest upon that promise, that God can juggle all of our lives for our good, is incredible. I know how much I wanted to comfort my children and bring them back to health; we are children of a Heavenly Father who wants to bring us wholeness and blessing too. I know how much I wanted my children to trust in my good care; we are children of a Heavenly Father who invites us to trust too. My understanding of God's providence has grown, which allows me to rest more fully in the loving arms of God myself.
Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for your providential care. Please deepen my trust in you. In Jesus' name, Amen.
"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28, NRSV).
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