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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Being patient through the pain



Hi! Welcome to "In Other Words" for Tuesday, February 5th! Being patient with God is never easy so I chose this quote by Elisabeth Elliot. Enjoy!


"He [God] is very patient with us when we are trying to be patient with Him."

~ Elisabeth Elliott ~




One of the hardest things I ever had to do was to transport my two year old daughter to the hospital when she broke her arm. She had been playing with her sister and brother at the neighbor’s house and fallen eight feet through the stairway railing to the uncarpetted hallway floor below. My neighbor assessed her injury, then scooped her up and ran the few yards down the street to hand her to me.

It was obvious from the peculiar angle of her arm and the blood under the surface of the skin that it was broken and would need immediate attention. Fortunately, my husband was home at the time. He opened the car door and I gently eased myself inside, holding her to me to keep the arm immobilized.

She hurt so much, she was screaming and writhing with pain. Tears coursed down my cheeks. My heart wanted to scream too, but I had to remain patient and calm and murmur comfort to her through the twenty minute ride to the hospital emergency room.

Once there, I continued to hold her as the nurses took our information and prepared to x-ray her arm. “Can’t you give her something for the pain?” I pleaded but they just shook their heads.and told me to be patient.

An hour later (at least it seemed to be an hour!) they finally had the x-rays complete and began prepping my little one for surgery to set her arm. Then they were finally able to give her something to relax her and ease her pain. I had been holding her all this time to keep her as immobile and calm as possible. My arms ached as much as my heart for her.

Once she relaxed with the pre-surgery medications, I was finally able to lay her down on the gurney and weep as they wheeled her into the operating room. Because of the complexity of the break, she remained in the hospital for three days while I remained close by.

It was extremely difficult to remain patient as she thrashed about in pain during the ride to the ER and while waiting for everything to be ready for her surgery. It was hard to remain patient after the surgery while we waited to see if the bones would knit together properly. But I had to - for my daughter’s sake as well as for my own.

God reminded me of the lessons in patience many years later when I was going through difficult emotional issues. I writhed and cried out in pain, wanting my Abba to stop the pain. But He didn’t. He held me, whispering words of comfort, love and strength as He carried me through those times in His strong arms.

He was patient with me in my pain, just like I had to be patient with my daughter through her pain, until all things were set in motion for His healing plan. If He had simply removed my pain, there would have been no lasting changes in the way I related to people, no real healing, only a bandaid solution. So He held me close and let me know I was worth the time, energy and love He was investing into this healing process for me. Because of His closeness, I learned to trust my Abba in spite of the pain.
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have learned one of the hardest things in life is being patient with God while our children are in pain.My son was very ill for a week last month and it seemed like an eternity as I cried out to God over it.

What a great perspective and analogy you have. Having kids sometimes gives you just an inkling of what God must go through with us.

If possible, can you remove link #1? It defaulted to something I did last Friday and I didn't realize it until I hit "Enter." It looks rather silly that I have a link to a recipe on IOW!! :) Thanks!!

Heather said...

I can remember a very similar day - my 2 year old broke his arm too! He fell out of the back of the shopping cart, but I was alone and couldn't tell if it was broken. I couldn't even hold him in my arms on the drive to the hospital. It was heartbreaking until a few days later when he figured out how to remove his cast and kept doing this because he thought it was funny! :)

Karen said...

How awesome Bonnie, thanks. I can't count how many times God has used His patience on me when I wasn't being so patient with Him. Good post!

Mrs. C said...

Bonnie,
This was a cathartic blog for me. Patience is something I've long prayed for, and God answered that prayer powerfully through some really tough experiences, mainly centered around my children. Being able to see the blessings after the pain is incredible.

Thanks~
Mary Ellen

twinklemom said...

Great post...Lol...I think as mothers we tend to quickly identify the need for patience and forget that like us, Our Heavenly Father is OUR PARENT too and how he must feel when we are in our moments of pain, sadness and joy...

I love this quote because it is a reminder that like we try to teach our kids, "wait" and they will be rewarded for the worth it was to take that extra time versus trying to cram a round peg into a square hole. (And how many toys have we had to replace due to lack of patience? LOL)

Unknown said...

Oh Glory, what a testimony you have shared here. I had the occasion to learn this very type of patience in the last year of my son's life. He struggled so with mental and social afflictions and he so longed to be the young man God had called him to be. I prayed and pled and asked God to bring change, to bring His will but nothing changed and most of the time things got worse. In August of 2005 I spent 8 days in the hospital waiting for God to reveal His plan for the injuries my son had suffered in a car accident. Ultimately, that plan would be that God took my son finally home to heaven, but I had to learn to trust God and wait upon Him to release His divine mercy and trust that whatever it looked like it was a part of His will and His plan. Patience came at a high price, but it is working itself in me daily - everyday since as now, I am so anxious to go home!

Blessings and thank you for hosting this challenge.

Michelle

Diana said...

Great post. Isn't it amazing how God uses our love for our kids to remind us of how much He loves us!