Picture retrieved from (http://www.westelm.com/products/mrk-coir-doormat-well-hello-there-d2307/#opi2202405148)
The other day my son refused a nap like never before, and by refusing I
mean he was kicking, screaming, crying, crawling out of bed, banging on the
door, not caring about timeouts, etc… He had literally everything except
furniture taken out of his room and this lasted for about three hours before my
husband and I finally wanted to give up! Near the end of this battle my husband
looked at me and said “I know he needs a nap, he is exhausted, in fact he is so
exhausted he has to keep getting out of bed and fighting us so he doesn’t fall
asleep. Every time he lies still for more than a few minutes he starts to close
his eyes and then jumps back up again to stay awake. I don’t understand…I am
trying to do something good for him, something he needs and yet he feels like I
am torturing him, if only he would trust me and go to sleep he would feel so
much better!”
I must have had a funny look on my face after he said that
because he immediately asked me what was wrong. I responded by saying, that
though I knew he was talking about our son, I felt like he was describing
exactly what God was trying to tell me in my life right now. How many times had God tried to tell me to just trust him even when I didn’t want to, to stop what
I am doing and rest even when I was deep in the middle of a project, to just
listen to his wisdom instead of relying on my own understanding, and to let
others help me even when my house was a disaster and I desperately wanted to be independent
again?
This hit me like a sack of bricks. You see I have spent the
last couple of months recovering from a broken leg. The timing of this could
not be worse as I faced changes at work, changes at home, and financial
stress resulting from my husband losing
his job in June and starting a new one only a couple of weeks prior to my
accident. Breaking my leg, left me wheelchair bound for 6 weeks and then in a
walking boot for another 4. During this time I could not tolerate standing for
very long and needed lots of periods of rest to recover and heal. Our house
very quickly became a disaster, our living room converted to a make shift hospital
room, (as I could not make it up the stairs to our bedroom for a few weeks)
with my medications, water, ice packs, lap top, wheelchair, clothes, and
crutches next to the couch where I took up residence. My son’s toys were also
everywhere as I had to keep him contained by me while watching him because I
could not get up quickly to assist with things in another room. We didn’t
vacuum for weeks, our dishes just kept piling up, and by the time we had people
offering to bring us meals I didn’t want anyone to set foot in my pig sty!
But God knew we needed the help. He knew we couldn’t afford to eat fast food every night and we couldn’t manage to make dinner on our own with the amount of assistance I required. Before long there were people in our community offering to give me rides, bring us meals, help with babysitting, offering to sit with me while my husband was at work, and much more! He knew we needed a community of love and support and he provided it. And even though I reacted at first much like my son, refusing it and asking God why, embarrassed by my mess and worried what others would think. I eventually gave in and just relaxed in knowing that God would take care of us and he had given us this welcoming community as a resource.
But God knew we needed the help. He knew we couldn’t afford to eat fast food every night and we couldn’t manage to make dinner on our own with the amount of assistance I required. Before long there were people in our community offering to give me rides, bring us meals, help with babysitting, offering to sit with me while my husband was at work, and much more! He knew we needed a community of love and support and he provided it. And even though I reacted at first much like my son, refusing it and asking God why, embarrassed by my mess and worried what others would think. I eventually gave in and just relaxed in knowing that God would take care of us and he had given us this welcoming community as a resource.
**Don’t forget to check in at the table at the entrance to receive your raffle ticket if you make it on time, you could win an awesome dinner or treat from our mentor moms! Also you may want to consider bringing a coat for your little ones as our lovely Moppet's workers do like to take the kids outside to play and it is starting to get a bit chilly!**
See you Tuesday!! =)
