Cradled

Hhm. So either I've been overly emotional lately (given a lot of circumstances) or maybe I'm having one of those "heart-to-heart" moments.
Standing in Karen's house today while I was cleaning gave me the opportunity to think as I cleaned. Sometimes it's good for me, sometimes not. Today was one of those days where it became kind of a toss up.

Have you ever heard "Word of God Speak" by MercyMe? If you haven't you should look it up. As I'm driving home from Karen's, I am absolutely overcome by this strong sense of thankfulness that it's hard to find words to explain it. So much of my life I've spent being angry, holding grudges, and I guess God has taken this opportunity this last year to work really hard at opening my eyes to how wrong that is. So much of my life was lived as I struggled with Poor Me Syndrome. Something about being saved and accepting Christ changed all that for me, and I think it has just slowly begun to become apparent to me.

When I was driving to the pediatrician's office this morning, it was as if I put myself in His shoes. Gracie is in the backseat, unaware of what to expect. And here I am - knowing that a flu shot is looming, know how terrified she will be. And yet, I just continue on my merry way to the pediatrician's office.

After the routine nurse/doctor check up, Gracie asks one last time if she has to get a shot. Not skipping a beat I tell her yes. I see her eyes brimming with tears as she argues me. "I'm not sick," she says. "I don't need a shot."

It's that simple for her to rationalize. But I know that this flu shot - no matter how painful - can be good for her. It can protect her from harm. "It will hurt for a little while, but then you'll be okay." I assure her.

Isn't it funny how I totally took how I was feeling at that moment and related it to the way our Heavenly Father feels about us? He knows what lies in the road ahead of us and sometimes - no matter how painful the situation - he will let us walk into the fire and come out on the other side. We might have battle wounds (or in Gracie's case, a bandaid) and it might hurt for a little while, but the pain doesn't always linger.

And just like I did in that room at the pediatrician's office, He will be waiting with his arms open to comfort and assure us that He's never too far from us anyway.