Thankful in Hard Times

It’s funny how the same event can be viewed differently from two opposing perspectives. Getting a job as a janitor in an American school for the former CEO of a Fortune 500 company might be unacceptable, but the same job to a former wealthy business owner from a third-world country could be seen as the start of a new and better life.

You thought I was going to use a poor man for the second example, didn’t you? But the truth is, I have known families who’ve experienced the latter and been grateful for it!

Are we?

The idea of being grateful in hard times has been pressed on my mind over the past few months as my daughter battles the effects of Lyme’s Disease and its treatment. Why? Because though this experience has been very difficult on her, we are astounded at how God put things in place so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We thank Him for His mercies.

This summer we were informed by my daughter’s new school that at the beginning of the year they would have a “field trip” overnight for five days. Given that we did not have any time to get to know the teachers chaperoning this trip and I couldn’t be there because I homeschool my special-needs son, this raised a few red flags. Sorry, but when you work in the mental health field, as I do, you sometimes know too much about what CAN happen.

Yes, I know, sometimes I need to let go and trust God to protect my child, and believe me, I had friends arguing that fact. But something in my heart kept saying NO. So I prayed that both my husband and I would have the discernment to make the right decision. Both of us felt a clear calling to keep her home.

She was diagnosed with Lyme’s the week before the trip. She could not have gone even if we’d allowed her. The treatment made her sick each morning and she would not have been able to be in direct sunlight due to the meds the whole week. Not possible for a field trip labeled “Outdoor Ed.” Whatever our reasons for keeping her home no longer mattered. God knew she wouldn’t be going and He was preparing us for that fact. No money lost. No expectations dashed. And best of all, no schoolwork was missed because there wasn’t much given to the kids who stayed behind.

Unbelievable! The timing couldn’t have been better.

Then, after finishing the first round of antibiotics, the symptoms came back. Momma-worry set in and more antibiotics were ordered, but THANK GOD the next two days of school were closed due to a professional day and the election. We had time to adjust to a new round of antibiotics and its effects on her every morning. We had to change her eating schedule to see if it would lessen the nausea and allow her to get to school on time. It worked!

So, yes, rather than shaking my fist at God’s allowing Lyme’s Disease into my daughter’s life, I Praise Him for His Mercies! I trust that if Lyme is part of His plan, it is the start of a new and better life. Maybe a challenge that would stretch and strengthen us. Maybe a means of gaining knowledge we'll need later.

Who knows? All I know is He will use it.

This reminded us that God has the whole story already written and He alone knows how it will play out. I suspect, given He is a good and holy God, though it may be rife with drama and suspense, He favors Happy Endings.

I trust in that.

I trust in Him.

Connie is a 2012 Genesis semi-finalist for Women’s Fiction. She was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Winter 2012 WOW Flash Fiction Contest for her entry, Why Not to Kiss on a Park Bench (aka. Harold and Violet). Come visit her on one of her other blogs: Living the Body of Christ InfiniteCharacters.com