I posted some of these thoughts on Instagram last night, but felt the urge to share it here, too, for any of you precious mamas who might be in a similar season!
Urgent Care >> Quickly becoming our new home away from home. Baby Zion has had a rough week of fevers, sleeplessness and all the eye gunk. The doctor diagnosed him with a double ear infection and double conjunctivitis and maybe strep throat. 🤪
The photo above shows smiles while we tried to come up with ways to entertain a baby in the doctor’s office (maybe a future blog post – ha!), but the truth is, we have had more sickness this last year than wellness, and, in full disclosure, I’m getting a little weary of it! So often I scroll social media and see people slaying life and getting stuff done, while we are just over here paying physician bills and trying to keep track of prescriptions and germs.
One would think that by now I would be so good at surrendering my will for His and joyfully receiving whatever lot He graciously gives, but the truth is my first response is always fussy and I am prone to wrestling the Lord when life gets annoying.
When we got home from the doctor, I sat down on the kitchen floor a little bit defeated while our feverish baby happily crawled around me, alternately hugging my knees and eating a banana. For all of his ailments, he is such a happy and contented baby, and I thought >> maybe I could try to live like that too. 💛
So in the spirit of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, I said thank you to God for modern medicine that I resist so much, but always seem to need. I said thank you to God for my sweet parents who took the big boys for a fun outing while we went to Urgent Care. I said thank you to God for an impromptu date with my husband while we waited for the Urgent Care to open. I said thank you to God for a husband who is there for the hard things. *I am telling you, the world might say romance is about lavish getaways and flowers and gifts, but there is no greater love than this – your man being willing to administer medicine in the middle of the night or wipe out the baby’s eye crusties or give you 10 minutes when you get home from the doctor’s office to emotionally eat alllll the chocolate.* I said thank you to God for a job full of people who are compassionate when I have to stay home another day. And I said thank you to God for being so patient with my ever-wandering, hard to submit heart.
As I rocked our little sicko to sleep that night, he looked up at me and started clapping his hands together, which is his cue to have me sing one of his favorite songs. The lyrics are as follows…
Clap your hands, all ye people! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! Clap your hands, all ye people! Shout unto God with a voice of praise! Hosanna! Hosanna! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! Praise Him! Praise Him! Shout unto God with a voice of praise!
As soon as I finished singing a round of the song, he would clap his hands as a cue for me to sing it again. We kept going and going with the song, and the more those words spilled out of my lips, the more the Spirit of God strengthened me with the conviction of how He wants me to live.
My flesh tends toward despair and frustration. But the Lord did not save me for a life of that. The Lord saved me for a life of victory. And so, with His help, I can clap my hands and sing for joy because of His love that even sickness cannot separate us from. If that love has removed all of my sin and saved a spot for me in heaven, then surely that love will help me bear whatever comes on my journey to that lovely place. I can give thanks for that.
Sometimes you have to just keep singing that over and over in the struggle to get to a place of that kind of belief. After all, faith is not in the seeing of miraculous healings and perfect living. Faith is when we can declare the truth in the middle of the gunk – and especially the kind that comes out the eyes. 😉
God bless you warrior mamas who are in the middle of it! You are loved!
Joyfully,
Julie
This is so beautiful! I love your heart that keeps seeking the Lord even in the gunky days. I know that is so sweet to Him. God bless you and that sweet baby.
God bless you Julie! God gives extra strength to mommas of sick children and then to see them smile and clap their little hands in the midst of it…priceless!!
We have been where you are in the health department. I STRONGLY urge you to look in to Juice Plus Gummies. Its a direct sales…multi level marketing company. In full disclosure…I do “sell” them but not to any one lol I became a rep so I could get them free for my kids. So we pay for my husband and my self and the kids are free!!! Huge perk…lol. but any who point here is my youngest was sooo sick March 2019 he only went to school 3 days that month and we were seeing a infectious disease dr!!! I was just DONE…regular vitamins were clearly not cutting it and he was constantly sick so he has basically zero nutrition going on too. So I figure I’d try something Jenna Edward’s (she lives in coral springs and her son is James…ya know turtle power for james edwards…it was huge when he nearly drowned in their pool while Jenna was in the hospital having baby #2) and she said she gives it to her kids and they love in and are hardly sick. Soooo I signed up and we started. My youngest has been on antibiotics about 4 times in the pat year but alllll for sinus infections and ear infections. Zero flu, strep, tonsillitis etc has gotten us….sooooo I TRULY DONT KNOW if it has prevented anything but it’s been SIGNIFICANTLY better for us all. Good luck!! Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers…
~my hearts aches for you. The reason I chose my nonprofit is because I have spent a lifetime in the hospitals and know what a toll it can take. PLEASE reach out if you need to talk or pray. No doubt, God is pleased with your willingness to go to him when so often we would like to run. I feel this post will be an inspiration to all people who are struggling with health issues within the family. Such a great reminder to embrace the clapping heart of a child! ~humble prayers and blessed wishes for healing coming your way~
PS: small travel bubbles work wonders!
Perfect! Dealing with my own sick child and helplessness in it, but you remind me there is joy and love and purpose and not to be defeated. God is good!
Thank you for sharing. This has been a great encouragement.
Thank you for this post Julie. I’m going to write down the scripture verse and put it on our fridge today!
Savannah was bitten by a dog in the face on Wednesday and it has been a traumatic week of time in the ER, surgery, sedation and pain for my sweet girl. It’s been the biggest parenting challenge in my parenting journey so far. I’m asking the Lord to teach and grow me through this experience, but man this is tough!
~i know you don’t know me. But I wanted to let you know that I am touched by your devotion to run to God’s word. No doubt, your daughter sees your faith and you are teaching her a skill she will value and apply. Blessings to you and prayers coming Savannah’s way for quick healing.~
Thank you Brenda! That is so thoughtful of you to say. My daughter is doing much better this week. It’s definitely been a challenging week, but I truly do hope I can look back on this time as a time of growth. And use it as a teaching opportunity for our daughter; that the Lord always takes care of us! Thank you for the encouragement:)
~so glad to hear! God Bless You!😇~