If you read my previous post you will know that Anna was sick but sweetly sleeping off what I thought would be a sickness that would pass us by quickly. It was quite the opposite and happened to linger for the days daddy was out of town and the weather was rainy and dreary. It was a long week for the two Sasser girls within the confines of our house. Anna was miserable and the doctor said he was unsure of what was exactly wrong. Her ears were clear but her throat was very red with white bumps. Thankfully, her strep test came back negative. He did do some blood work but did not see anything abnormal. Needless to say our sweet girl shed many tears. It was a vicious cycle, as the crying would cause her throat to hurt only more. She did not understand that she was inflicting the pain and only knew the pain was worse. Thus, her crying became even louder and harder. There was know way for me to communicate to her that if she would stop crying her throat would feel better. She ate and drank little and said, “no” to most things I offered her. One afternoon I offered her some ice cream out of a bowl. She has only seen ice cream in a cone, mostly at TCBY on waffle cone Wednesday. Thus, she was skeptical and would not even take a bite. I tried everything as I hoped the cold would feel good to her throat but she would not budge. As I sat there with her I thought of how often God must watch us and think why do they say, "no" when all I want is what’s best for them. How often is our Father right there in front of us and we turn away. Just as I wanted Anna to taste the cool sweetness of the ice cream God wants us to taste of his goodness. "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8 Why do we insist to do things on our own when God wants to be our guide. He wants us to trust him in ALL things just as I wanted Anna to trust me. He wants only good for his children as we do for our earthly children. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your OWN understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. God has often used Anna’s life to teach me about his love for us.
Thankfully, Anna is feeling much better but has still been taking it easy. I can’t tell you how many books we have read and re-read over the past week. Anna walks over and says, “uh..uh” (up) with her hands raised high to be lifted up in the chair with me. She then nestles her body in my lap and waits for the reading to begin. After we are done she says, “buh” (book) and gets down to get another and we start the whole process over. Hours each day are spent this way. She has a few favorites that I can recite with my eyes closed. But I wouldn’t trade this time for anything.
