Yesterday my sweet Jeremiah got another 6 teeth pulled (thankfully he had recently lost one, otherwise it was going to be 7 teeth!).
Over the years, he's already had more than a half-dozen teeth pulled, in addition to all the ones that he's lost on his own (or that his brother's have 'accidentally' knocked out).
So, in an effort to reduce his growing anxiety about needles in his mouth (and hopefully stem off braces), I asked that he be put under and do them all at once. Unfortunately, while he appreciated this, it ended up giving him a new reason to be anxious.
He's a man of few words, so I don't always know what's going on inside his head- but then he'll come up to me and say what appears to be some random comment. To an outsider, they might think it odd. But I'm not an outsider, I'm his mom.
And mom's know things.
So then, the dilemma now is, how do I help my son learn to cope? The world is uncertain and sometimes bad things do happen. I can't just glibly say that he shouldn't worry because it will be fine, because I can't guarantee that and I don't want to lie to my kids to try to make them feel better.
No, I need something bigger that is going to bring an inner peace. A peace that is far more complete than anything that I can give him.
Any time my kids have a nightmare, or in this case fear, I want to teach them the right way to handle it- by taking them to Jesus. I remind them of Phil. 4:7 and pray it over them- because I know that God's word will never return void (Is. 55:11).
And you know what, it brings them peace.
Of course, since they're still little it's my job to ensure that their peace continues by keeping those issues on my prayer list, but bit by bit they're learning and seeing it for themselves.
They're getting it.
And that brings me peace.
So how did Jeremiah do? He was a trooper as usual. The doctor and nurses were impressed (as if they wouldn't be with this kid!). And he's bounced right back, but still taking it easy as per doctors orders.
The best part has been how this has helped him grow. He was fearful about the unknown but now the unknown had been revealed and it hadn't been all that bad. He learned to talk about his concerns and how to bring them to Jesus for Him to deal with. And he again learned that his mom will do whatever she can to be there for him.
His peace is back for now.
Keeping it real, by the grace of God...
Tammy
Over the years, he's already had more than a half-dozen teeth pulled, in addition to all the ones that he's lost on his own (or that his brother's have 'accidentally' knocked out).
So, in an effort to reduce his growing anxiety about needles in his mouth (and hopefully stem off braces), I asked that he be put under and do them all at once. Unfortunately, while he appreciated this, it ended up giving him a new reason to be anxious.
He's a man of few words, so I don't always know what's going on inside his head- but then he'll come up to me and say what appears to be some random comment. To an outsider, they might think it odd. But I'm not an outsider, I'm his mom.
And mom's know things.
So then, the dilemma now is, how do I help my son learn to cope? The world is uncertain and sometimes bad things do happen. I can't just glibly say that he shouldn't worry because it will be fine, because I can't guarantee that and I don't want to lie to my kids to try to make them feel better.
No, I need something bigger that is going to bring an inner peace. A peace that is far more complete than anything that I can give him.
Any time my kids have a nightmare, or in this case fear, I want to teach them the right way to handle it- by taking them to Jesus. I remind them of Phil. 4:7 and pray it over them- because I know that God's word will never return void (Is. 55:11).
And you know what, it brings them peace.
Of course, since they're still little it's my job to ensure that their peace continues by keeping those issues on my prayer list, but bit by bit they're learning and seeing it for themselves.
They're getting it.
And that brings me peace.
So how did Jeremiah do? He was a trooper as usual. The doctor and nurses were impressed (as if they wouldn't be with this kid!). And he's bounced right back, but still taking it easy as per doctors orders.
The best part has been how this has helped him grow. He was fearful about the unknown but now the unknown had been revealed and it hadn't been all that bad. He learned to talk about his concerns and how to bring them to Jesus for Him to deal with. And he again learned that his mom will do whatever she can to be there for him.
His peace is back for now.
 |
| Jeremiah- the strong, silent one. |
Tammy
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