The rapid strep test last week was negative, but today they called to say that, yes, Peter has strep.
Stress.
The culture is more accurate than the rapid test. The rest of us have a 24% chance of contracting it, but still, I was in a hurry to get that antibiotic going, though Peter's body had healed on its own, as is usual for strep. In 24 hours the antibiotic takes care of contagious bacteria and keeps strep from spreading in the body and causing dangerous complications.
If my husband and I contract this illness, that's $50 out the window for doctor visits, plus the money for the medicine.
Stress.
Out we go to the van, headed for the pharmacy, to find the battery dead for the second time in a month.
Stress.
Peter's tics and OCD are causing him great stress, and in turn he's behaving poorly. I never know what causes these flares in symptoms, but I try very hard to keep the schedule routine. Maybe illness causes flares? Strep can cause a flare called PANDAS, which worsens mental disorders like tics and OCD. A flare is simplifying it, but you get the idea. This probably hasn't happened, but my son is sure miserable.
Stress.
Beth's speech is still not up to par, despite a year of speech therapy. My father, visiting yesterday, said he couldn't understand her. We understand everything, and no one complains at church or AWANA, but still, the idea that she's progressing so slowly?
Stress.
When things snowball like this, what can we do?
My first instinct is...stop everything and write a gratitude list. I know God will take care of all these stressful issues, and a gratitude list reminds me of His love and faithfulness. Yes, today is a bad day, but spiritual blessings spill over in my life and my heart is full. With the Lord, I am never alone and the answers never depend on my wisdom, but on His.
We finished the book of Matthew and are now reading 1 Kings for our morning devotions, and the boys are reading it additionally for school. I read the commentary aloud on the verses as well, which they don't have the discipline to do yet.
We learned how pleased God was when Solomon asked for wisdom.
1 Kings 3:7-14
7 “Now,
Lord my God, you
have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little
child
and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the
people you have chosen, a
great people, too numerous to count or number.
9 So give
your servant a discerning
heart to govern your people and to distinguish
between right and wrong. For who is able to
govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
I know that instead of spending a long time researching batteries and the problem of Ford Winstar batteries going dead frequently, and reading countless hours about my son's mental disorders or about strep, or about speech articulation issues, I should first and foremost, ask God for wisdom. After God hears my prayer for wisdom, I can proceed freely through my day, knowing that my prayer was the most effective response to my day.
As my children's principal discipler (husband works 54 hours a week), I need to get this right. They need to see a healthy, knee-jerk, Solomon-inspired response to every stress incident.
Have stress? Pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Prayer Time: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the abundant spiritual blessings in my life. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, for the open relationship it gives us with our Heavenly Father. Thank you for 1 Kings, and for Solomon's request for wisdom and what it teaches us about appropriate responses to life. We desire to please you and be instruments of your glory. Thank you for the stressful days and how they become object lessons in my discipleship efforts with my children. Thank you for Peter's mental disorders, and Paul's ever developing OCD, and Beth's arthritis and speech issues. Thank you that life is not easy. Thank you that I need you, desperately.We ask for wisdom and comfort, Lord.
In Jesus' name, Amen
Gratitude List:
~ residing in America where we can have devotions and worship the Lord in our home without fear
~ that my children love the Lord
~ that medicine has progressed enough to prevent dangerous complications
~ that God has a plan for every day, and a purpose for every issue in our lives, though he didn't cause them
~ prayer and how it softens children's hearts, and our hearts
~ a working washer and dryer, furnace, water heater, refrigerator
~ Compassion International
~ going to the consignment shop for snow boots for Paul, and finding a holiday sale, allowing two for one outfits. Beth now has 4 new Lands' End winter dresses, which are our favorites.
From the children
~ shelter and warmth
~ our clothes
~ our beds
~ siblings and parents
~ games (marbles, Rummikub, tiddly winks, Trouble, our Geography game)
~ our birthdays
~ pretty dresses
~ cakes (Beth's birthday is this Sunday)
~ food
~ friends
~ a good Momma who takes good care of me and loves me (from Mary--I promise I didn't bribe her to say this :)
What are you thankful for?
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
I know that instead of spending a long time researching batteries and the problem of Ford Winstar batteries going dead frequently, and reading countless hours about my son's mental disorders or about strep, or about speech articulation issues, I should first and foremost, ask God for wisdom. After God hears my prayer for wisdom, I can proceed freely through my day, knowing that my prayer was the most effective response to my day.
As my children's principal discipler (husband works 54 hours a week), I need to get this right. They need to see a healthy, knee-jerk, Solomon-inspired response to every stress incident.
Have stress? Pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Have stress, pray.
Prayer Time: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the abundant spiritual blessings in my life. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, for the open relationship it gives us with our Heavenly Father. Thank you for 1 Kings, and for Solomon's request for wisdom and what it teaches us about appropriate responses to life. We desire to please you and be instruments of your glory. Thank you for the stressful days and how they become object lessons in my discipleship efforts with my children. Thank you for Peter's mental disorders, and Paul's ever developing OCD, and Beth's arthritis and speech issues. Thank you that life is not easy. Thank you that I need you, desperately.We ask for wisdom and comfort, Lord.
In Jesus' name, Amen
Gratitude List:
~ residing in America where we can have devotions and worship the Lord in our home without fear
~ that my children love the Lord
~ that medicine has progressed enough to prevent dangerous complications
~ that God has a plan for every day, and a purpose for every issue in our lives, though he didn't cause them
~ prayer and how it softens children's hearts, and our hearts
~ a working washer and dryer, furnace, water heater, refrigerator
~ Compassion International
~ going to the consignment shop for snow boots for Paul, and finding a holiday sale, allowing two for one outfits. Beth now has 4 new Lands' End winter dresses, which are our favorites.
From the children
~ shelter and warmth
~ our clothes
~ our beds
~ siblings and parents
~ games (marbles, Rummikub, tiddly winks, Trouble, our Geography game)
~ our birthdays
~ pretty dresses
~ cakes (Beth's birthday is this Sunday)
~ food
~ friends
~ a good Momma who takes good care of me and loves me (from Mary--I promise I didn't bribe her to say this :)
What are you thankful for?
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