By: Hannah Dearth
This past week my 4 year old broke his leg.
He broke his tiny,tiny, little leg...
As we headed to the hospital my husband was crying, my son was crying, and I was trying to make plans to “fix” things. How can I make him feel better? What are some positives I can tell him about getting to rest on the couch? TV and snacks? Fun visitors to come play?
Maybe I will get him a milkshake when we finally get out of here. Let’s turn on a fun song to distract him...
We knew his leg was likely broken when we got to the hospital, and they confirmed this for us. A few hours and x-rays later, we headed out for that milkshake, and then home.
We tried to re-explain to my son what the next several weeks would look like and really be positive and cater to him all night to make sure he felt as little pain as possible. When we took him upstairs for bed, he cried again before we could get into our nighttime routine.
“Would you pray for my leg?” he asked tearfully.
“Of course buddy!” we exclaimed. We also let him know again how strong he was. We knew it was probably scary for him.
“God makes me brave,” he said with a sigh.
It was a devotional and scripture memory from several months ago.
He remembered. Not only the devotional, but to point to Him. When I tried to fix and plan, my son remembered. Don’t get me wrong, we pray often. We have thanked God many nights for chicken nuggets. We sometimes thank him for a particular toy, or if I’m really trying to get out an intentional prayer my son frequently interrupts me with an “Aaaaaamen!” to let me know he is done listening. However, this day was different. It showed me those chicken nugget prayers mattered too. Because of those prayers, he was in the habit of talking to God. He was just thinking about Him and how He works in what matters to him as a 4 year old...chicken nuggets.
Today, whatever you are going through...
Don’t fix. Pray. And know, God makes you brave.
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