"This Will Hurt Me More Than It's Going To Hurt You..."

I used to hear my parents say that phrase all the time...and I never believed it... But, now...being a parent myself, I sure do understand the meaning of those words... Like, this past Wednesday when I took Kassia for her 4-month check-up...and she received her second round of shots... Man, just knowing that she was going to have to get those again was killing me... I was apologizing ahead of time the whole way the we drove to the appointment... Apologizing while we waited beforehand to go into the immunization clinic... And, oh, did she scream this time when the guy stuck her with those needles! All of the air left her body...and I was like, "C'mon...breathe...breathe!" Her poor little face turned bright red, and she screamed and cried like I hadn't seen before... My heart was breaking!

I wonder sometimes now, if it's like that for God...looking down on us...as His children...and knowing what's coming in our future...things that are really going to hurt us...and cause us pain...and the whole time, He's thinking about how much it's going to break His heart that we have to go through them...

Lord, thank You for the many different phases of life that we go through... Thank You, that along each step of the way, You reveal different aspects of who You are...what Your heart is like...through the various relationships we have with others... Thank You, that as a parent, I'm beginning to understand even more about You and how much You love us... Everything's about YOU, Lord...and for You...