I had to take Emma, my child with the mouth full of metal, to the orthodontist today for an unexpected visit. She had a blister in the roof of her mouth where her butterfly touched.
When I called the office and made an appointment, she immediately started crying a river full of tears. She begged not to go. She was even angry that I'd called in the first place. She was so afraid of what the doctor might do, of what might cause her some pain.
I told her we were going to see the doctor for her best interest, that I didn't want the blister to get infected and cause more pain in her mouth. I told her to quit worrying about what might happen because the doctor might not do anything at all, then she would've cried and worried for no reason.
I'm guilty of the same thing. I don't know the plans God has for me; so sometimes I worry, I cry, I get angry when I can't see my way through pain. All I know is that I don't like pain, so I often don't want to face it. God knows that. He encourages me to trust Him. He knows the plans He has for me...He sees the ending. He causes all things to happen for my good and His glory.
When we arrived at the doctor's office, Emma reluctantly sat in the chair and opened her mouth. He looked at the blister, examined her mouth for a minute, then asked her a question. He asked her if she'd like to have the butterfly appliance removed. You should've seen the expression on my child's face! She was so excited. She was more than eager to have that piece of bothersome metal removed. She was all smiles when we left his office.
Sometimes we fear the unknown, but we end up realizing how foolish we were not to trust God. He knew all along that He would remove the pain, that He had good things in store for us. While we don't always see the pain removed in this life, for those of us who trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can look to the day that there will be no more pain or sorrow or crying in heaven. His plans are better than we can imagine. Our worries are in vain.
I can relate to this. I'm so often paralyzed with fear of the future - what it might bring, what it might cost, what God sees down the road that I don't...
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