Shots and Smiles

Wednesday afternoon we experienced one of those inevitable, unavoidable, have-to-do-it-for-their-own-good, parental moments. We took Oliver to get his first set of shots! Ouch!! He was asleep when we got there. Peaceful. Content. Unaware. Unprepared for what was about to happen. Jarrod sat him on his lap. Pinned his arms against his little chest. And, before we knew it, whammo! One awful shot down. One awfully sad baby. I think it had to be easier for Jarrod than for me. He might have had to hold him, but I'm the one who saw his face. Heartbroken. Scared. Shocked. Hurt. I wanted to pick him up and tell him that nothing else bad was going to happen. But, of course I knew better. He still had two leg jabbing, tear inducing, "what in the world did you just do to me" shots left. Thankfully, in no time at all and three band-aids later, the whole ordeal was over. He ended up handling the situation pretty well. (His parents made it through okay too!) Tears only came when the shots did. And, he calmed down right away once we comforted him. Smiles even returned later that day.

I wonder if God has moments like that with us? Days when He has to let us go through something unpleasant, even painful, for our own good? Times when He allows the stabbing pain of loneliness, selfishness, bad decisions, or pride to prick our hearts? It must be awful for Him. He sees our broken lives, our hurt feelings, our scared souls. I'm sure He'd like to tell us that nothing else will ever hurt again like that. But, of course, He knows better. He knows us. We will mess up again. Life will be tough again. Tears will come again. He can't keep us from experiencing all the shots we take in life. We oftentimes have to endure the pain in order to grow. He will, however, hold us, comfort us, and carry us through until the band-aids fall off and the smiles return!

Shaken. . . Now Stirred

Oliver didn't sleep well last night. Not a shocker. . . neither did his mommy or daddy. We think he is entering into the wonderful 'mood altering, drool pooling, everything ends up in the mouth' world of teething. He was cranky. He was clingy. He was anti-crib. So, because of his restless night, I found myself awake, again! Groggy? Yes. Yawning? Non-stop. Eyes open? Barely. But, nonetheless, awake. At 4 am. I took him to our room and climbed into bed, hoping for peace. The house was quiet. Oliver and I were rocking. Jarrod was snoring. The world started shaking.

It sounded like thunder. I thought a storm was coming. But then, the windows rattled, the house began to shake, and I shot up!

"Jarrod, what is that?"
"What?" (He was none too thrilled to be awakened for the bazillionth time that night.)
"That!" (Pointing like a mad woman around the shaking room.)
"I don't know."
"Did a car hit our house?" (Ok, it might sound stupid now, but in my defense, most anything sounds credible at 4 something in the morning!)
"I don't think so."
"Will you look?" (We have small windows on the wall above our bed. He reluctantly stood up and looked out.)
"No car. I think we're having an earthquake."
"An earthquake?!! Oh, my goodness. What should we do?"
"Probably move from under this ceiling fan."

That was our actual conversation. Not too profound, but remember, we were sleep deprived! Before last night, I hadn't found myself in very many middle-of-the-night, worried-a-car-hit-the-house, earthquake conversations. I plan to say something much more clever next time! (We did have an earthquake. 5.2 - not sure what that means, but it sounds substantial to me!)

The shaking stopped. Jarrod went back to snoring. Oliver fell asleep. I started thinking. Does God have to "shake" me in order to get me stirred up for Him? Does He have to rattle my complacency and shake up my plans? Am I truly awake in Him, looking for ways to be used for His glory? Or do I waste my talents from time to time, being more "groggy for God" than "go-getter for God"? Definitely something to think about. Here's my middle of the night revelation . . . I really don't want to be a person who has to be shaken to get stirred!

Crazy Wasp Syndrome

Okay, I've spent most of the day today being held captive in my own home. Afraid to enter various rooms. Worried about Oliver being attacked. Anxious. Nervous. Looking over my shoulder. Basically, just "bugged" out. I'm sure you are wondering what has ruthlessly held me prisoner today. . . a WASP!! A mean, angry, flying like a maniac, never landing, wasp! I have been creeping around, armed with my sturdy flyswatter, just waiting for him to land. Like so many things, it got me thinking. Does God sometimes have a hard time getting me to "land"? Do I fly about my day in a frenzy forgetting to be still before Him? I have a feeling I'm a lot more like that crazy wasp than I'd like to admit. Chasing him around today made me realize an important fact. I need to spend less time bouncing off the walls of busyness and more time landing in the presence of my Savior. How about you? Anyone else struggle with "crazy wasp syndrome" from time to time?

In case you're wondering. . . I haven't caught the wasp yet. He is, however, skillfully trapped behind the blinds in my living room window waiting for Jarrod to come home!

Watch Out for Wild Turkeys

Jarrod and I were out for a drive the other day on one of our "coffee dates" when all of a sudden we had to come to a quick stop in order to let a group of wild turkeys cross the road in front of us. (Not something I'd experienced before.) After four or five had crossed the road, we started to take off but noticed one turkey running full speed toward the road in front of us in order to not be left behind by his "buddies". We slammed on the brakes, avoiding what could have been a nasty feather-flying moment, and watched as that last turkey joined his crew on the other side of the road. I had to laugh at the whole scene. I mean, how many people can't drive down the road because a herd of wild turkeys are running around them?! But, then it got me thinking about life in general. . . How many times do we think we've got things under control and start to "take off again" just to be bombarded by another "wild turkey". We take our eyes off our goal for a second and then get blindsided by problems, temptations, bad attitudes, etc. running full speed right at us. We have to be prepared at all times. For the "turkeys" we can easily see. And for the ones that come sneaking up beside us, running wildly, ready to cause a crash in our lives. Who knew so much could be learned from an encounter with wild turkeys?! I guess God can use anything to remind me of keeping my eyes on Him!!