At my work it is RSV season. During RSV season I spend a lot of time deep suctioning little babies who cannot clear their own airways due to a viral infection.
Oftentimes, when I am explaining this to their parents, I tell them that it is as though we are blowing the babies' nose for them, since they are unable to do this for themselves.
It never fails that the next question is: "Will it hurt?" I explain to them that it is unnerving, and that the baby will cry and won't like it.
Some parents are fine with this. They realize it is for the betterment of the child, and they willingly understand that the pros outweigh the cons. However, some parents act almost as though they would rather not put their children through that discomfort. What they are not realizing is how much more discomfort and difficulty they would be causing to their child if they did NOT have the procedure done.
This is when I do my best to explain the benefits, and why this is such an important procedure for their baby. As I was thinking about this tonight, I said to myself "If only they knew how important it was for their baby.....They wouldn't question the temporary pain for the long term benefits"
Are we like this with our Heavenly Father? Would we rather trade some short term discomforts for ease, even if we know that discomfort will be to our benefit later on? Do we have faith in Heavenly Father when he helps us to know, through revelation, that some of these "uncomfortable" experiences are what will help us grow the most? Are we willing to do that which will really be best for us? Does Heavenly Father say to himself: "If only they knew how important this temporary pain is for their eternal growth, they wouldn't question me."?
I pray that I will have the faith to put up with temporary pain for the purpose of becoming spiritually stronger in the end.
What a BEAUTIFUL analogy! I love how easily you can put words on the screen that hit me like they do! Thank you for being so in-tune with the spirit and saying just what I need to hear!
ReplyDeleteMuch love!