Children are amazing; they are a blessing from God, changing your life forever.  There are days of joy and excitement, but there are also difficult days as well.

Today we found a small tick of Ryan’s neck.  Saturday in Waurika, Ryan and Gracie went for a walk on the creek with their PawPaw.  They had a blast, as they always do.  Ryan came back with a little visitor though.  Cami noticed but we both just thought it was a freckle so we paid little attention to it.  Today, Cami noticed it was getting a little red and as she looked at it much closer realized it was a tick.  We have had several close friends recently get lime disease and so thoughts and fears begin racing through our head.  We made him an appointment at the doctor’s office to make sure there was no infection or disease, as well as to make sure the head was taken out completely.

When it came time for Ryan’s doctor to take the tick out I was asked to basically pin him and hold him down on the table so he cannot move.  This way the doctor can examine the bite closely and make sure that he squeezes the head completely out.  So there I was, holding Ryan down on the table as securely as I possibly can.  The only thing, he does not understand.  He is scared.  His dad is holding him down and someone is poking around on his neck.  I am sure it is very traumatic for him because it is hard for me.  All I can do is hold him down and keep whispering into his ear, “daddy loves you,” and “your okay.”  But it does not help, he does not understand why I am allowing this to happen to him.  What I understand is this has to happen for him to get better.

I wonder, does this scene look really familiar to God?  I always hear people ask, where is God in the trials and difficult times?  Why does He allow bad things to happen?  Maybe He is right there?  Saying, “I love you but you have to go through this to get better.”  I am learning in life, God really does not give me more than I can handle.  It is the difficult situations I face though that seems to prepare me for the next mountain I have to cross.  The trails we face many times are preparing us for what come next.

Maybe it is through those trials we do not understand, God is preparing us to minister to someone else in the very situation we found our self in.  While we still do not understand we must trust God does and He will see us through.  If only we can learn to hear his voice through the pain and chaos.  “I love you, but you have to go through this to get better.

^NIV James 1:2-3  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.