My son, Eman, was such a busy body of a little
boy. Before his arrival in my life, my days were pretty
predictable. My daughter was pretty easy in the sense that she was happy
doing whatever I was doing, yet she also knew how to quietly entertain herself as the only child.
Well, in 2001, all that changed. Eman
arrived and decided to shake things up. In spite of him having chronic
asthma, he was a rough, daredevil, little boy. From jumping off the
top bunk of the bed landing his chin on the dresser on the way down (ouch!) to
running with scissors and barely missing his eye when he fell with them.
We were in the emergency room on a regular basis. My life was never the
same.
One day, in his usual 5-year-old
"superhero" fashion, he snuck up on our dog and pulled his
tail. The dog was startled and turned around and snapped at him causing a long, bloody cut on Eman's cheek. Thank goodness he didn't need stitches (this would
have been the third time he'd had stitches on his face), but it was still a nasty
cut. Eman was quite upset and shocked by Elmo's response. So to
make him feel better, I decided to take him to dinner at a hibachi restaurant
that evening. What was I thinking exposing others at the table to his
face? There was a lady sitting at our table with her three small children
and I happened to notice her little girl snuggling up next to her
mother with a frightened look on her face while pointing and whispering,
"Look at his face." Her mother smiled politely and assured her
daughter that it was okay.
Seeing and hearing this, I decided to change
the atmosphere of the table. So I looked at the daughter with the most
convincing look on my face and said, "He got into a fight with a tiger, and
you should see what the tiger's face looks like." The little girl’s eyes widened as her siblings perked up to listen as I explained how my son had won a fight with a tiger and how the tiger was in much worse shape. And just like that,
Eman became the hero at the table and it was an honor for the other kids to be
sitting with such a victorious warrior.
That story pretty much sums up how I stepped
into the new year - scars, bumps, bruises, aches, and pains, but you should see
the scars of the enemy that I fought to get here! I learned that it's not
about the enemy you're fighting, but about the army that's fighting on your
side. Some battles are tough and some scars are evident, but thank God
for (1) fighting our battles, (2) extending His unfailing grace, and (3) offering us a chance to
begin again!
Thank you Jesus, we won! May your 2020 be filled with
many more victories. Happy New Year!
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways. Psalms 91
Love Always,
Shy
