The Help

As I am writing this, it is well into what you would call the wee hours of the morning.  Not sure where that phrase came from…the wee hours - but regardless of it’s origin, for the second night in a row I am finding myself forced into being awake during them.  My one-and-a-half year old has fallen prey to a sinus infection and a lovely pair of ear infections.  And despite a visit to the pediatrician, regularly scheduled doses of Ibuprofen, Tylenol and antibiotics, hugs, kisses, and lots of rocking, I feel helpless in my ability to bring him comfort.  He just repeatedly allows himself to be almost lulled to sleep and then with any movement is jolted back into the reality that , “oh yeah, three of the five holes in my head are inflamed and throbbing.”  As a parent, all I want is to bring him comfort.  I just want to take away his pain so he can rest.  But my human limitations can only let me get him so far.

Feeling helpless is a terrible feeling.  How many of these statements can you relate to?

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 -  I felt helpless as a child when a trusted adult used my innocence and weakness to satisfy their own         desires.
 -  I feel helpless as I have to watch a loved one go through a serious illness.
 -  I feel helpless as I watch my teenage or young adult child make poor decisions that may affect their       lives negatively.
 -  I feel helpless as I watch the moral fiber of our country decay around me.
 -  I feel helpless as my husband or wife seems to be emotionally distancing themselves from me.
 -  I feel helpless as I slip further and further into debt.
 -  I feel helpless to overcome my addiction to pornography, drugs, food, or you-name-it.

Well as I am listening to my son starting to stir yet again, and yet again my heart strings and emotions are being pulled in different directions for him, I am overwhelmed with the fact that as much as I long to be able to bring him peace, God wants the same for me and He wants the same for you.  But HE doesn’t have limitations like I do.

 -  When you were a child being abused, He was there longing to rescue you.
 -  As you watch your loved one on their death bed, He longs to hug you and stroke your hair and tell       you it will be o.k.
 -  As your child makes poor decisions, He wants to tell you that He cares for them even more than you       do.
 -  When you feel like worry, heartache, and strongholds have a grip on your heart, He is begging you       to let Him in enough to be able to take control and help you solve your problems.

“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”  
2 Corinthians 1:8-10