I love it when God uses little things to remind us of how big His love is for us.
I recently was running late while taking my son to a doctor's appointment at a nearby hospital. He was experiencing the extreme nausea that often accompanies delayed gastric emptying, this complicated illness we've been living with since the beginning of this year. Imagine how you would feel if, while you were experiencing an urgent desire to throw up, you had to spend an hour in the car and then sit in a doctor's office. You wouldn't just not want to go--the car ride would be like a torture chamber. When you feel extremely nauseous, you just want to stay home.
So I understand my son's discomfort. But hearing and seeing him suffer causes me suffering as well. That hour of travelling--the time from my house to the hospital, up the top of a very congested parking structure, and through the hospital and on the three different elevators we have to take to get to the office we need--exhausts me, as well. More aptly put, it breaks my heart.
I have to thank the Lord, because most weeks He grants me an abundance of grace, and patience, and peace at this part of my week. Enough to enable me to continue driving forward, despite repeated requests to go home, and sometimes, enough to carry my son into the hospital when he is too ill to support himself. Enough to keep my shoulders back and my eyes forward as I pass people, with a look in my eye I suppose says something like: "This is what we do. We care for our children." I'm certainly not the only mother at that hospital whose twelve-year-old cannot walk in by himself. One of my amazing blessings, however, is that usually, mine does.
Anyway, on this particular day, I was feeling, not grace, but rather, weakness. The appointment was important, and I felt like we needed to arrive on time. Both for my son, and also for myself. I just did not feel like I had the strength to drive slowly and patiently through the parking structure, up the many floors, and across the hospital, all while late--to an appointment so necessary to my son! It's not that I can't handle being late; it's that on this day I just felt so close to breaking.
So I asked the Lord, "Please help us not be late. Please, if there could just be an open parking space available on the lower level, it would help so much. You are the God of time, and I trust You can arrange it so that we get there on time. Please help us."
I also prayed to Padre Pio, who we already love, and who could bilocate, and therefore seemed like a reasonable person to turn to asking for a bending of the laws of physics.
This was not a prayer I would pray every day, just expecting a divine solution to my lateness. Honestly, this is not a pray I would normally pray, ever. But this day, there was something inside of me that felt it was OK to ask for this favor. There was something that made me think God wanted me to ask, and He wanted to answer.
And He did! We found an open spot just feet from the first floor entrance. In the years we have been going to this hospital, I had never seen an open spot that close! Amid much praise to God, I pulled into the space.
The blessings didn't end there, however. Two men with boxes stepped into the building at the same time as us. When the elevator said it was going down, they said they wanted to go up, and I spoke up, saying, "I always just get on anyway, because then at least you have your spot on the elevator!"
They smiled, and agreed. We stepped into the elevator, and one of the men looked at my son, pulled out a wonderful "Hail to the Little Victors" baseball cap, and asked if he would like to have it. That made him smile! And me too--in fact, just the week before, I had been thinking how much I would love to get my son something with the hospital's very catchy slogan on it! What a gift, that our God pays attention to even such seemingly small things!
I told the man, "Thank you! God is being so good to us in so many ways today!"
When we walked into the doctor's office, I finally allowed myself to look at the clock. We were two minutes early! At this point, it wasn't about being early or late. It was about my Father creating an opportunity to shower me with love in a way He knew I would understand and appreciate. It was about my Father letting me know my husband and I are not alone in this.
The appointment was every bit as valuable as I had hoped it would be. And at the end, when my son was able to choose a prize, it was no dentist-office treasure chest toy, like I'd imagined. There were some very thoughtful gifts for the children, and the foot-tall Darth Vader figurine my son chose was an extra-big blessing for my avid Star Wars fan. It felt a bit like his birthday, like we were being showered with love.
When we stopped for food on the way out, since my son had been too sick to eat much earlier in the day, they even had a small meal he could eat. Getting food when we are on the go has become very tricky, and I usually just avoid it. But on this day, it was like blowing out the candles on a cake--the perfect conclusion.
We have been to the doctor a couple times since that day, and while they all have been just as difficult, I thankfully haven't found myself needing to make another such bold request. God gave a gift that day, and it was much bigger than a parking spot or an on-time arrival.
He showed me that when I carry my son, He carries me. He carries us both. And He is mighty indeed.
(After I finished writing this, the song Mighty to Save came to my mind. I hope it is a gift to you today! You can see it here.)
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