I performed my motherly duties - cleaned the cuts, wiped away tears, soothed with ice cream and sprinkles - and carried on with the day's tasks. Before long he was giggling and laughing; that's when I noticed it. The second tooth along the bottom of his sweet little jaw-line was no longer cute and square-shaped, but had been broken, making it sharp and fang-like! As I made closer inspection of the injury I realised - due to the tiny red dot I could see in the centre - that the break had indeed exposed the tooth's nerve.
Thankfully for my little shark-boy it doesn't seem to be causing him any pain and can be treated with a simple dab of fluoride toothpaste; often this is not the case. Leaving raw nerves exposed can cause sudden flares of intense pain. We then start to avoid using the injured body part out of fear, becoming less able to function in the process. To become free of this cycle we need to treat the cause - the raw nerve.
And isn't this just so much like life? We decide to give something a try and it doesn't come off; buying a house, a career change, just getting through each day is a challenge for many of us. Quite often we end up like my boy, squashed under a mountain of hurt, rejection, failure and many other things; sometimes the crash is minor and we get up and brush ourselves off, but at other times it damages us and exposes a nerve or two. We begin to avoid the things that make us hurt; taking risks, daring to try again, anything that would bring on the pain.
I am convinced that God has more for us than a life lived cowering behind the raw nerves of our souls. And I believe that he will use us - unashamed Christians who write from the perspective that God loves each individual in this world - to share the very best balm of soul-healing to all who read our words.
We read in Proverbs 16:24,
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (NIV)
What an absolute blessing it is to be appointed a writer for God! And in a world that is full of lies, deception and false hope, his Word of truth is needed all the more.
Be encouraged today as you write; trust that God will use the talents he has chosen to give to you to bring his supernatural healing to someone . . . somewhere . . . somehow.
Blessings,
Helen
Great post Helen. I am so sorry about what happened to your little boy (and also sorry I didn't get to meet you as a result) but look what gems came out of that out of your writerly pen! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement. Yes, we have a high calling don't we? How blessed we are.
Thanks Anusha. It's amazing how often my kids are God's pool of inspiration for me! Actually, it's extremely personal, this blog; not just because of my son, but because I've recently had some very painful 'raw nerves' revealed in my own life - to say they were out of the blue would be understating the fact, but God's healing is beautiful and of perfect timing.
DeleteHey, I just added a whole other paragraph!
Blessings, Helen
I find my interactions with my kids also help me see things from God's perspective and teach me humility. How often do we go around saying to our Heavenly Father: "Me do it!" when all he wants to do is help us and show us the better way?
DeleteHi Penny,
DeleteIsn't that the truth! I am always learning lessons from my kids . . . and then quite often apologising to them.
Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Blessings, Helen
Writing can certainly be a balm for the soul. That is no more evident than in the Psalms. Look what they did for David.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Wendy
Hi Wendy,
DeleteI love reading the Psalms; I'm sure David was a 'larger than life' kind of character who wore his heart on his sleeve. And isn't it a comfort to know that God called him a man after his own heart, as he learned to praise God in all situations.
Blessings, Helen
Thanks for this inspirational post Helen.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said that God has plans for us all more than what we can imagine. Oftentimes, we try to question Him for bad things that are happening to us, we are unaware that He is just preparing us for something big that's coming our way.
The important thing is that we must put God in everything we do. Whenever bad things happen to us, pray to Him for guidance and blessings, if there are any problems that seems too big to handle, pray to Him and ask for enlightenment, and if good things and happy things have come to us, may we not forget to thank Him for these blessing that He showered to us.
May you and your family be well and may God be with you and may you continue inspiring people through words. ^_^
Thanks so much for joining in on this topic with us. I agree with everything you have said; no matter what, trust that God has our best interests at heart, and pray and praise in all things!
DeleteBlessings,
Helen
Isn't it great how God speaks to us through our experiences, especially through parenting. I love that about God. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteVery encouraging blog, Helen--thanks so much. Just yesterday, I heard that someone didn't like some things I had written in my new non-fiction book--but then an hour or so later, I received a lovely email from someone who thought the book was beautiful! I can assure you the words of that email were sweet to my soul, as your Proverbs quote says! And I agree it's such a blessing to be a writer for God. God bless.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo-Anne,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement. It certainly sounds like you needed some yesterday; Praise God for the email. All the best with your book, too.
Blessings, Helen