Encouragement?

I had something cross my mind this morning that I hadn’t really thought about before. Then I felt the Lord nudging me to share it here.  Perhaps He plans to use this as a little encouragement to someone out there?!?!

 

For most of my life, I was pretty much petrified of needles.  And the sight of blood.  I would nearly pass out at the sight of either.

 

I recall many occasions when I had to sit down and breathe deeply because I saw someone’s blood.  Seriously.

 

One time my little brother cut his hand with a pocket knife.  I accompanied him to the doctor’s office.  I still vividly recall my sweating palms, weak knees, and swirling head.  I recall a nurse telling me to sit in a chair, and helping me to that chair--outside of the examining room so I could avoid fainting due to the sight of the blood.

 

I also recall trying to be the brave sister when my older brother would lock himself in the bathroom, or in the car, when he knew he had to get a shot, whether it be due to immunizations or penicillin.  I stayed with him on more than one occasion, for moral support, but really it was because I feared the needle as much as he did.

 

I recall my first pregnancy, the utter shock when they said they’d have to take blood at the first appointment.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  NO!!!  Being pregnant didn’t have to involve needles, did it?!?!

 

I recall praying and believing that God would never give me a medically fragile child because I wouldn’t be able to stay in the examination room for any check-ups, and I surely wouldn’t be able to go near an operating room, ER, or hospital.  Gosh, I didn’t even think about immunizations in a healthy child and how that would involve needles!!! 

 

Well, the part of this story that I felt God might use as some encouragement is that I no longer fear needles.  Or blood.  Or OR’s, ER’s, or hospitals.  In fact, I can help guide a needle to draw blood when a nurse can’t get it in a particular child’s vein (mainly because I know certain veins in certain kids and which veins roll and which veins are at a particular angle, which veins require deep pressure and which ones require light, just because I’ve watched so many blood draws…and attempts at blood draws).

 

And God has sent me several medically fragile/needy children to care for, even when I prayed and believed He’d never ask me to do that because there was simply NO WAY *I* could do it.

 

The truth is, *I* could NOT do it, but God could.  It wasn’t like I woke up one day and realized that I was healed of my phobias.  And it wasn’t like I waited for God to heal me before I said YES to caring for a medically needy child.  Nope, it was all part of God’s process.  My obedience, despite my fear, and His healing, despite the timing.  It would all work out for His glory, His plan, His timing.

 

I cannot even count the number of ER visits, OR visits, medical procedures, days spent in the hospital beside a kiddo (or my hubby), nor do any of the procedures bother me in the slightest.  This is not because *I* made this decision, it’s because God did.  I had nothing to do with it but to obey whatever God asked of me, despite my fear or feelings of how I could never do so and so or such and such!

 

I pray someone will be encouraged by this today.  Be encouraged to obey, even if all of the fears and kinks haven’t been worked out.  If God leads you into something, He’s going to lead you through it.  He will never leave you or forsake you.  He might even bring you to a place you never thought you could go.  The truth is that *we* can’t go most places on our own, but with God, all things are possible.

 

Trust.

 

Believe.

 

Obey.

 

See.