Lessons From My 8 Year Old
For weeks, my household has been in a state of sickness! The youngest had Type A Flu, he recovered. We had a few days of energy and well living… Then my oldest got Type A & B Flu while my husband was out of the country! It only took 2 days for my youngest to get sick again. This time, with Type B Flu! Their school has been attacked with this nasty virus in a bad way. Each time I took their temperature, I became overwhelmed with self-pity! We’ve missed so much Church, Thanksgiving needs to be planned, groceries need to be purchased, laundry needs to be folded and put away, school work needs to be made up and those are only the things within the house! I have been overwhelmed with the part of life that I have no control over and today just piled on more. My oldest has recovered but my youngest pulled a muscle in his chest from coughing and that pain has been hard for him. So, I went into “Super Mom” mode, decided enough was enough and was able to get some prescription cough medicine!
We spent 4 hours driving to and from the doctor and getting the run around from the Pharmacy, causing us to drive to multiple locations. Cough medicine, we just needed the cough medicine! Then we had to deal with a random nose bleed using a bottle of water and chick-fil-a napkins since the bathroom was pre-occupied (I’m officially MacGyver Mom)! Finally, we made it back home. My 8 year old… who is the sick one by the way, rubbed my back and said, “it’s ok Mommy!” After starting laundry and some house chores, I went in his room to check on him and there he was, eyes closed, hands clasped together praying! I began to cry (for the 89th time today) and sat next to him. I was so ashamed and convicted that he saw me breathe and count to 10 as I walked away from the 3rd Pharmacy counter. I spent much of the afternoon apologizing to him over and over for how long it was taking. All the while, he was confident that there was no need to get overwhelmed and frustrated because… well, God! That is what he’s always been taught but I, the teacher, forgot!
He said “I’ve been praying since yesterday for God to take away my sore throat. He hasn’t done it yet so I’m going to just wait because I know he will.” Wow! Those 2 sentences spoken by a very wise little boy shook me. “I will wait because I know that he will.”
Teach them to pray!
I held him so tight and encouraged him to never, ever give up hope for the things he prays about! Some days are really bad but we always have hope that tomorrow will be better. After the horribly complicated day this child had experienced, he still smiled as he drifted to sleep knowing that God was the great healer. I laid on his bed holding him and crying while thanking God for using him to speak to me. I pray that through my adversity, I can see the big picture instead of being so distracted by the small hurdles. Life is often messy with random circumstances that negatively affect our day but we can’t let a bad day equal a bad life. Trials happen, people walk out of our lives, change is inevitable and we don’t always have control but…… God does.
What would happen if we changed our thought process? What would happen if you started with the positive?
Take a lesson from my son as I did and smile through the hard days while you walk toward the good ones. When we feel overwhelmed and emotionally spent we just hold on a little while longer. We wait and trust as God works. See the good, be the good, focus on the good. Take steps to create a mindset of childlike faith. Life happens and quickly changes your perspective if you aren’t intentional about your surroundings. It’s not too late to breathe in faith, hope and most importantly love.
Love BIG,
Denisha Karmè