The other day Charlie had his 8 weeks/2 months doctor visit. I don’t know what your normal doctor visit entails (and I’m okay with not knowing, thanks) but for young Charlie it meant shots. Here’s a pic of the damage:
Can you see the little bandaids on his thighs? 2 little needles…who knew that they’d cause so much turmoil?
This picture was taken during a brief moment of respite. Either the tylenol was working, or Charlie was in his happy place (changing table)…but most of the past 2 days have been rough with him. He’s only been content when being held, upright, and walking around the house.
Last night Kim said that she thought the shots were making him craggy*. After the chuckling subsided, we determined that she meant cranky or crabby. And yes, when you’re learning to deal with pain, the discomfort tends to produce elevated stress levels, which can lead to temperamental stages of crying and general unpleasantness.
There’s a learning process that goes along with pain and discomfort. I believe that God uses pain to shape our hearts, to make us more sensitive to others, to teach us to rely on him, to remind us of our weaknesses. I don’t think that God gets any pleasure from pain, but I am certain that he uses pain to work in our lives.
Until I am mature and realize the proper way to process pain, my natural reaction is just like Charlie’s–I whine and whimper, cry and demand attention. But when I get my head around the working of God, I can see that pain has a purpose. The ground of my heart is softened to receive what the Lord is doing.
I’m still not very good at this process, and it still catches me off-guard. But I want to get better at responding to what God is doing, even if it hurts.
How has God used painful circumstances in your life to bring transformation of your character?
*Kim’s got a history of mashing words together. She’s ok with us laughing, as long as we’re laughing with her!
1 Comment
Kenyan · September 28, 2011 at 1:59 pm
So there was a facebook posting that sums up mine. “Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent free in your head.” My last boss was the queen of doing horrible things. When I finally left I was incredibly bitter and angry at her. She was taking up to much space. I had to learn how to forgive and forget before I could evict her. I was so busy holding grudges that I was running out out of space for good stuff. God’s transformation of my character was making me a more forgiving person so there would be room for the good stuff he had planned. Of coures this is still a work in progress.