Life Lessons from Beckham: "This is for your good."

     

       It’s amazing how much your perspective on life can change once you become a parent.  Mine changed before we had even left the hospital.
       During our time in the hospital, Beckham was tortured (from his perspective that is).  Every three hours a nurse or Doctor would wake him to poke and prod at him.  Beckham would scream.  He could not understand what was going on.  While I would agree with him that most of it seemed unnecessary, they were simply making sure that he was healthy.
       It wasn’t until I had to “torture” him though that I began to learn a simple truth: my perspective on things and his perspective on things are completely different.  He was having trouble breathing through his nose, so I used a few drops of nasal solution and used the nasal aspirator to suck out the obstruction.  Beckham gave me this look that said “What are you doing to me Mommy?  Don’t you love me?”  He was petrified and confused, and I’m sure the entire hospital was aware of it.  I tried to console him and began to explain to him that even though it felt like what I was doing was the most terrible thing in the world that really I was doing it for his own good.
       It was at this point, that the Lord gently reminded me of Romans 8:28-29, “ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”  I realized that there were many times that I have screamed at the Lord saying “Don’t you love me?  Why are you doing this to me?”  All along the Lord has been trying to say to me, “Even though you don’t realize it, you need this.  This is the best thing for you, and I am doing this for you because I love you.”  His perspective and my perspective are two different ones.
       So even though Beckham does not realize that painful things can bring good, I know that I still have to learn this truth as well.  I need to take comfort in the truth that God is good and everything He does is good.

"You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees."  
                                                               Psalm 119:68