Last night I sat and held my baby girl as she cried and cried. The pain wasn't over a skinned knee or a fall from her bike. It was the deep cry from a heart that had been hurt. For a momma, those are the worst kinds of cries. There wasn't a band aid that would fix this. There wasn't a popcicle that might take the mind away from the hurt. For what seemed like hours, nothing helped. I must admit I tried to think of ways that I could make up for the pain....a new kitten, a trip to the dollar store, a fun new outfit. Yet I knew, ultimately, she must cry and heal on her own. No matter the source of the pain, the hurt is heavy and raw and real. I've felt it myself too many times.
As I sat and held her, my mind ran to the future. I thought of the many more times she would have a heartache that her mom or dad couldn't fix. And then I thought of my own heartaches over the years...times that I've cried myself to sleep when even my mom didn't know I was hurting. How many times would my children do this same thing? My throat grew tight and my body seemed as if it filled with heat as I imagined the possible trials and difficulites that might come along the paths of my children. Scripture is clear that trials will come. My family is not immune. No, that's clear even lately.
After a while, she calmed a bit and began to fall asleep. I rubbed her back and prayed. In my heart I knew this is not the last time I'll see her cry and have pain. I can't possibly know the source of it - or I'm sure I would try to fix it in advance, take it away altogether. Yet, I know that in our sufferings our faith is refined. God allows us to suffer to prove our faith genuine. My children will suffer pain and sorrow and heartache. The question is this: Will they know where to run for comfort?
The best thing that I can do for my children is to lead them to Christ, the One who heals. In the grand picture of life, the pain that my daughter suffered last night was small. For as much as I don't like to think of it, more hurt will come in her life. My greateat concern need not be whether I can help cover her hurt with ice cream or a shopping trip or a band aid. My concern should lie in whether I share with her how to let Jesus heal all her hurts. How can she use every trial for His glory? How can she learn to be thankful in all circumstances? What does scripture say about God's faithfulness in times of suffering?
...we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perserverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us... Romans 5:2-5
Hope. That's the result of perservering through our sufferings. Hope does not disappoint. The hopeless run to the world to cover their pain and suffering. The world offers false hope and more disappointment. The true hope of Jesus offers life in abundance, even in trials. It's not a magic formula, though. It doesn't mean your problems vanish. Yet, we know that our sufferings have purpose, meaning, and depth. They bring us closer to Him - the One who suffered in our place, for our sins. They help us to rest in Him who has endured all suffering.
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