"If the God you believe in as an idea doesn’t start showing up in what happens to you in your own life, you have as much cause for concern as if the God you don’t believe in as an idea does start showing up. It is absolutely crucial, therefore, to keep in constant touch with what is going on in your own life’s story and to pay close attention to what is going on in the stories of others’ lives. If God is present anywhere, it is in those stories that God is present. If God is not present in those stories, then they are scarcely worth telling." ~ Frederick Buechner

09 November 2012

God Is Bigger Than the Boogie Man: A Compassion Post

Yesterday was one of Those Days.

Bubby woke up multiple times through the previous night, because he has been sick: runny nose, fevers, no appetite, etc. Poor kiddo.

He woke up super-early in the morning, so he was worn out by naptime.

Then he woke up just fifty minutes later ... inconsolable.

Wanting to be held.

This is my kid. The one who is Not A Cuddler.

I asked him if he wanted to go on a walk, and he said yes. But he didn't want the stroller. I knew I wouldn't last long carrying him in my arms (read: not-buff-mom + solid-toddler = shortest walk in the world), so I convinced him that he needed shoes, put him in the Ergo, grabbed my phone and keys, and we headed out.

Just a couple blocks down the street, I stepped off the curb to cross over to the other side ... and fell. I hadn't seen the slope in the road where there's the space for the sewer/drain (like this), and my right ankle rolled. I jerked my body to the side so I wouldn't land on Little B. My left knee took most of the impact, along with the thumb on my left hand, which was protecting B's head.

B started crying (mostly from surprise) while I hoisted myself onto the curb and called my friend to see how far away she was (she and her boys had taken a walk to the library).

Then I pathetically hobbled home with blood dripping down my leg, singing chipper toddler songs to distract my shaken little boy.

These are the kind of days that make me grateful that there is a Bigger Picture. That life is going on all over the world. That God has a Plan. 

And part of His plan is being worked through Compassion.

Tonight, as I was feeling overwhelmed after a day of driving all over kingdom come north Dallas to find a pediatrician who could check out Little B, I checked my email. In my inbox was the lastest blogging assignment from Compassion.

Did you know that Compassion bloggers take trips to different parts of the world to visit with sponsored children in person? How utterly cool would it be to meet those precious children and their families, to see how they live, to touch and be touched in our hearts? I often wonder how much of their world is truly conveyed in the letters we get; I've lived and traveled in a lot of countries and cultures around the world, but I still don't know what life India or Burkina Faso is like.

In just a few days, there's a Compassion team heading to darkest Peru,  to experience "firsthand the daily challenges of children in poverty and witnessing how Compassion works in their lives." Won't you join me in praying for the team and the dear little ones they'll be visiting.

I'm thankful tonight for the reminders God sends my way, such good, much-needed reminders that the world does not revolve around me, that He is so much bigger than my worries about my child and my tears, that He heals hearts, bodies, and even souls.

Earlier tonight, at one of the times when B woke up, I swayed with him in my arms, and I sang, "God is bigger than the boogie man."

Because I need that reminder, too.

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