So, my one year-old grandson has been down with a stomach virus the last few days. My little guy is just miserable. He has not had much of appetite, so we have been giving him clear liquids, dry crackers, and some Pedialyte to replace his electrolytes. Anyway, he is really miserable. This morning, as I watched him walkabout, crying, fussing, kinda rubbing his tummy and stumbling…just inconsolable. I wanted to hold him and comfort him and so I extended open arms, but he would just turn away, fussily. Even when I picked him up to comfort him, he fought me to put him down. There was just no consoling him. Well, I let him walk around, going in and out of the room fussing, stumbling, crying, every once in a while he let out a giggle that quickly turned to tears. I followed him, always near to catch him if he fell and make sure he did not hurt himself. That went on for a couple of hours. After a long morning, I noticed he was getting tired and so I picked him up, put him over my shoulders, still a bit fussy, but he finally fell into a sweet slumber. He was tired from not feeling well, but like when your’e sick…you just feel so bad you can’t sleep, well…babies are no different. The stomach bug was getting the best of him, but the doctor, as always said the virus had to run its course. Just keep him hydrated, which is what we are doing. My little fella. I feel bad because there is little I can do to comfort him and even when I try to provide comfort, it gets rejected. As a grandma, it hits the heart. I put him to bed and the little guy is still sleeping.

Well, the Lord is so gracious. Through this first trial with my grandson experiencing his first bug, the Lord uses the moment to show me some truth.

As children of the Living God, we get hurt, we ache, we moan and groan, we cry, we stumble, sometimes it’s because of some of the choices we mad, good, or bad, and other times through no fault of ours. In either circumstance, the Lord is always there to hold us, to comfort us and like my little fella that rejects my offer of comfort, so we reject the One that reaches out to comfort us.

And even more the Lord reveals He knows our pain. We, as humans can sympathize with someone suffering from the cold or the flu, for how many among us have never experienced a bad cold. I don’t know of anyone. And how many can feel the pain of someone suffering with cancer, not just the physical pain, but the mental anguish? Perhaps there is someone out there that has never had even a slightly sick day in their life, perhaps…pity him.

How many of us can know what is in the heart of any man. None of us. No one can truly know the pain in anyone’s heart. But here we have a Living God that created us, that knows our every thought, our every need, holds our tears in His hand and He wants to comfort us, yet at every turn, we reject Him. We, like a stumbling infant don’t know any better. And as adults, we believe we know best. We know how to fix what ails us. We turn to worldly solutions, forever finding the cure, but never being cured. My grandson can see me. He knows me and he may not understand that I am only trying to comfort him (because of his age), but he knows I am there for him whenever he is ready to let me comfort him…he reaches out his arms. And when he sees his mother, well she provides the comfort only a mother can provide. How much more can the Creator offer to His children? He wants to do for us what I want to do for my grandson, only He as the Creator of man can comfort beyond human ability. But like my grandson, we have to allow the Comforter to hold us.  Otherwise, it’s not until we finally get so tired we just collapse we reach out to the Father, and the Father is right there to pick us up and hold us in His arms, to shelter us in the shadow of His wings. How awesome is that!!! 

I have a friend that deals with illness upon illness. She is on Kidney Dialysis. She had diabetes. She broke both ankles, at different times, so badly, she now finds it difficult to walk unsupported. Now, the doctors tell her she might have cancer. I try to comfort her, but it’s hard to find the right words, so I pray for her. I ask God to shelter her in the shadow of His wings, so the Lord carries her. She is seeing a psychiatrist to deal with her depression and suicidal tendencies…an effect of the various drugs she must take and then well…just the situation. It does not help, she says. The Lord, however, waits. His hands are outstretched and they never tire. It’s hard to reach for something you can’t see, so faith is a tremendous thing to have…