Bandaids ...

This afternoon my youngest son, Zackery, came in with a scrape on his arm after falling off his bike. We went to the bathroom and cleaned it up – it’s amazing what a little Polysporin and a couple of bandaids will do for the healing process.

But at some point our kids grow up and they realize that the “bandaid” just doesn’t cut it anymore. A bandaid typically isn’t a pain reliever – it just sits on top of the wound to protect it and hopefully keep the wound clean until it can heal. When our kids are hurting emotionally, that “bandaid” might be our love, our prayers, our best intentions, or it might be a change in surroundings, a change in friends, limitations on privileges …

So how do I, as a mother, help my kids learn to cope with the pain of life? Because face it, LIFE ISN’T FAIR. We’re all going to get hurt, get a raw deal, get the short end of the stick, at some point in our lives.

The “Christian” answer to that is to pray for them and love them and blah, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a good answer and I want to pray for them and love them. But how do I practically point them to Jesus in the midst of their pain? Maybe I don’t. Maybe that’s the work and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Maybe all I do is pray, and love, and be there to hug them and hold them when they need to feel arms around them, and trust that Jesus loves them more than I ever could.