A Sick Child

Yesterday, my 14 year old came home from school and walked past me to lay on the sofa. "I am cold and my stomach hurts", was all he said. He is a naturally tanned child but yesterday he was white. He had a fever of 103 degrees. While every fever has its reasons and risks, you would have thought my child was dying. My concern was real and my son was definitely ill. He doesn't get sick often, but when he does; he gets very sick.

I know that my husband and I have been very blessed with healthy children. There are parents who have children with long term and critical illnesses who pray daily that the worst illness they dealt with is a short term virus. There are parents with children who have disabilities, life threatening crisis' and there are parents who are saying good bye to their children forever.

There is nothing more devastating then having your child suffer. To have a child ill to the point of dying is a traumatic event for the whole family. Can you ever recover from the death of a child or a child who has a lifelong devastating disability?

Yes, you can recover. By no means is it something that will be easy to do. Recover does not mean forget your child. It means you are able to see the future continuing even when your child is not there with you.

How can you see the future without your child? By knowing that the God who made us and takes us home with him can offer that same to you. You can live with the promise that God has given us, the promise of eternal life in heaven.

We need to also remember what God has been through. His only Son was sent to earth with real dangers to Him. Jesus was hunted by Kings, killing children two and under in the hopes of killing the young Savior. Jesus was hated by his own people. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and crucified. God gave his son as the savior of the people he created and his son was crucified. While Jesus was raised from the dead and seen by the people in as little as three days after he died, we can rest in the assurance that we too will be able to see our loved ones, our lost children in heaven.

Make sure your children know about the gift that God offers each and every one of us. Make sure as well that you are taking the lead on a real relationship with God. Whether you believe Jesus is your Savior, ask Jesus into your heart, or whatever the new catch phrase is; make sure the relationship with Jesus is there in your hearts and your children's hearts. Do it today if you haven't done so already.

Being a parent is a difficult job with lots of love for our children. Make sure you are ready for this responsibility in your heart as well.

Chocolate for Monday 01/26/09

Reverence "the fear of the Lord" Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The fear being referred to in this verse is not being afraid of the Lord, but fear in the understanding of the awesome power of God. Think about this, anyone who can create the entire world in six days is deserving of our fear, our reverence.

When we bring our petitions before our Lord, we need to humble ourselves before him out of reverence. He has created the heavens and earth. He sent His son to be born as a baby and die a perfect man for our sins. Humbling of ourselves before Him out of reverence is the least we should do for Him out of reverence due Him to the Holiness He is.