Monday, June 23, 2008

so NOT fun

The kids & I are supposed to be on our way to Texas today for a long vacation... but last week they contracted Hand, Foot & Mouth disease (it has been going around our church for months) so we are having to wait until Friday to make sure they are no longer contagious.

This has been some of the most difficult days for me as a parent - it is never easy to watch your children while they are sick but due to the severity of this illness it has been almost unbearable. There was a definite advantage with Lucy since she could express her pain, her need for medicine, what foods sounded tolerable, etc. But with poor Nate it has been just awful. His voice is hoarse from crying so much and he is so not himself. It is breaking my heart.

When Lucy first got a fever last week and then a sore throat I began praying specifically for it not to be this disease. For it not to affect our travel plans. For it not to affect our weekend with Grandma & Grandpa. For Nate not to get sick. And God answered, "No, no, no, no." I don't know why this is the way it is but I do know I have a choice in my response.

I can get angry, bitter, resentful, questioning His authority, His concern or His plans for us. Or I can continue to trust, praise and honor Him in the midst of unpleasant circumstances. And it has had to be a conscious choice, going against what I "feel" about things.

I have seen too many times the wisdom of His sovereignty and know that His ways are best, even if they are more than uncomfortable for me.

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