Mika has been sick for two days with croup. At times, she has trouble breathing, coughs violently, and cries without warning. As her mom, I am trying to do all I can to help her through this--even though she doesn't understand some of my methods.
I need to give her medicine to ease the swelling in her throat. Not only does the medicine taste bad, it also hurts her throat as she swallows it. So giving her this medicine three times a day has become a battle--one that almost always ends with both of us in tears.
When she woke from her nap today, her breaths were short and raspy. Therefore, I blasted the hot water in the bathroom and filled it with steam. Then the two of us hung out in the water-logged air for 10 minutes. It was hot, intensely humid, and small. I had to respond to her cries with an ever-so-familiar phrase: "I'm doing this because I love you..."
Last night, I checked on her around midnight to find she had a fever. So I had to wake her up, strip her pajamas off, and sponge bathe her. She didn't understand why.
But all this gives me a dramatic illustration of how the Lord deals with me. I can look back at my life and see times when I behaved like Mika has in the past 48 hours--crying, squirming, begging for reasons and relief. God, my Father, sometimes has to do what is best for me even though I don't understand what He is doing.
Still, there is one thing that gets me and Mika past all these treatments. She knows that I love her. After I give her medicine, she reaches her arms up for comfort. I'm so thankful that she clings to me, even in her confusion.
When I'm in a similar situation with my Heavenly Father, I hope I can remember how things look through the teary eyes of a parent.
You're so good at expressing yourself through words. I can't truly understand what your going through since I'm not a mother, but I am a daughter. I'll be praying for Mika. The rest of you too. It's not easy to watch Mika so closely, nurse Coby often, be a good wife to Mark, etc. May you have a blessed day!
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