“Trust in the Lord …and feed on His faithfulness.”– Psalms 37:3
One afternoon my son was at the kitchen table enjoying one of his favorite snacks – crispy sliced apple wedges with creamy peanut butter when I heard him calling me.
His voice sounded a little muffled, so I went to the kitchen and found my son pinching his cheek and pulling it away from his jaw line. As half-chewed bits of apples and saliva gathered around the edges of his mouth, he announced awkwardly, “Some-ting’s poh-hing me.”
Investigating further, I discovered that a thick metal wire from his braces had broken loose and was now embedded in his cheek. I carefully reached in his mouth and attempted to press the area closest to the wire, hoping by some rare chance that I could dislodge it from my son’s flesh. As soon as I touched it my little boy started whimpering in pain. I could see that the tension from the wire was preventing it from popping out.
I quickly grabbed the phone and called our orthodontist. It was a Saturday and no one was there, so I left a message. Meanwhile, tears formed in my son’s eyes as apples and saliva began drooling down the corner of his mouth. At the same time the wire continued to dig into his cheek.
I left a few more frantic messages. Finally, one of the dental assistants returned my call. She suggested I use a pair of toe-clippers to cut a portion of the wire. Doing so, she said, would ease the tension and allow me to easily dislodge the wire.
I explained the situation to my son. The toe-clippers I had were rather small, so he wasn’t too bothered when I brought them out. Unfortunately, they weren’t strong enough to sever the metal. Instead of easing his pain, they only increased it by pushing the wire further into his cheek. My son became very upset at this point and began to cry.
No mama wants to see her child in pain. I had to think fast. I ran out to the garage and found a pair of hefty wire cutters in our tool box.
Pausing before I walked back into the house, I took a deep breath and asked God for help. I then hid the tool in my back pocket, certain that my boy would come unglued if he saw the oversized snippers heading toward his little mouth.
“I need you to close your eyes and trust me,” I said to my poor son. He paused, flashing me a look of uncertainty. I repeated myself, speaking as calmly and reassuringly as I could. “Don’t move. Close your eyes and just trust me.” With that, my son took a deep breath and quietly obeyed. I gently maneuvered the huge cutters toward the target. “Snip,” the wire was cut. The tension immediately released, allowing me to slide the metal barb out of his cheek with ease. I tucked the cutters back into my pocket before my son even opened his eyes.
He was relieved. I was relieved. The rest of the apples and peanut butter were tossed in the trash.
Needless to say, my huge wire cutters could have done some serious damage if my son hadn’t relaxed and placed his complete trust in me. Gaining that trust might have been doubly difficult if he had glimpsed their sheer size, because in my family, I’m known for my clumsiness and for causing accidental boo-boo’s.
The very best thing my son could do at that moment was close his eyes — so as not to be distracted by anything else — take a deep breath, and trust. Because he obeyed, everything turned out fine.
Similarly, when we’re hurting, struggling or in pain, instead of frantically looking around for a quick solution, we need to call out to God for help. Although our human nature may want to panic over the “what if’s” the best thing we can do once we’ve called out to God is to take a deep breath, close our eyes, let go of the worry, and simply trust Him.
I’ve been doing this lately. I literally close my eyes and whisper, “Just trust God” every time a problem arises. When I do this, I’m immediately reminded of God’s faithfulness. And even if the problem isn’t instantly resolved, I know that by placing my trust in God, the tension will release and everything will be just fine.
Send comments about this article to Abreathofinspiration@yahoo.com
One afternoon my son was at the kitchen table enjoying one of his favorite snacks – crispy sliced apple wedges with creamy peanut butter when I heard him calling me.
His voice sounded a little muffled, so I went to the kitchen and found my son pinching his cheek and pulling it away from his jaw line. As half-chewed bits of apples and saliva gathered around the edges of his mouth, he announced awkwardly, “Some-ting’s poh-hing me.”
Investigating further, I discovered that a thick metal wire from his braces had broken loose and was now embedded in his cheek. I carefully reached in his mouth and attempted to press the area closest to the wire, hoping by some rare chance that I could dislodge it from my son’s flesh. As soon as I touched it my little boy started whimpering in pain. I could see that the tension from the wire was preventing it from popping out.
I quickly grabbed the phone and called our orthodontist. It was a Saturday and no one was there, so I left a message. Meanwhile, tears formed in my son’s eyes as apples and saliva began drooling down the corner of his mouth. At the same time the wire continued to dig into his cheek.
I left a few more frantic messages. Finally, one of the dental assistants returned my call. She suggested I use a pair of toe-clippers to cut a portion of the wire. Doing so, she said, would ease the tension and allow me to easily dislodge the wire.
I explained the situation to my son. The toe-clippers I had were rather small, so he wasn’t too bothered when I brought them out. Unfortunately, they weren’t strong enough to sever the metal. Instead of easing his pain, they only increased it by pushing the wire further into his cheek. My son became very upset at this point and began to cry.
No mama wants to see her child in pain. I had to think fast. I ran out to the garage and found a pair of hefty wire cutters in our tool box.
Pausing before I walked back into the house, I took a deep breath and asked God for help. I then hid the tool in my back pocket, certain that my boy would come unglued if he saw the oversized snippers heading toward his little mouth.
“I need you to close your eyes and trust me,” I said to my poor son. He paused, flashing me a look of uncertainty. I repeated myself, speaking as calmly and reassuringly as I could. “Don’t move. Close your eyes and just trust me.” With that, my son took a deep breath and quietly obeyed. I gently maneuvered the huge cutters toward the target. “Snip,” the wire was cut. The tension immediately released, allowing me to slide the metal barb out of his cheek with ease. I tucked the cutters back into my pocket before my son even opened his eyes.
He was relieved. I was relieved. The rest of the apples and peanut butter were tossed in the trash.
Needless to say, my huge wire cutters could have done some serious damage if my son hadn’t relaxed and placed his complete trust in me. Gaining that trust might have been doubly difficult if he had glimpsed their sheer size, because in my family, I’m known for my clumsiness and for causing accidental boo-boo’s.
The very best thing my son could do at that moment was close his eyes — so as not to be distracted by anything else — take a deep breath, and trust. Because he obeyed, everything turned out fine.
Similarly, when we’re hurting, struggling or in pain, instead of frantically looking around for a quick solution, we need to call out to God for help. Although our human nature may want to panic over the “what if’s” the best thing we can do once we’ve called out to God is to take a deep breath, close our eyes, let go of the worry, and simply trust Him.
I’ve been doing this lately. I literally close my eyes and whisper, “Just trust God” every time a problem arises. When I do this, I’m immediately reminded of God’s faithfulness. And even if the problem isn’t instantly resolved, I know that by placing my trust in God, the tension will release and everything will be just fine.
Send comments about this article to Abreathofinspiration@yahoo.com
