Poor Samuel. He's had a rough couple of days.
Just after his Nana arrived, Samuel came down with a cold. What began as nasal congestion, quickly found it's way down to his chest. He's fighting off his first honest-to-goodness cold this week and it's not been fun for anyone.
On top of that, his 12 month molars chose this week to come through. YIKES!
I'm really feeling sorry for Michael's mom - she comes all the way from Africa to spend time with Samuel - and THIS is the week he falls apart. He refuses to sleep (day or night), he's cranky, he's snotty, and pretty much everything makes him angry. I don't know who to feel sorry for the most: Samuel (since he feels bad), Nana (because she needs to see Happy Samuel), Me (because I'm SLEEP DEPRIVED), or Michael (because he's having to put up with a cranky baby and a cranky wife while entertaining his mother.)
On Saturday, we traveled down to Greenwood, AR to see my parents and to celebrate my little brother's birthday.
My brother has a love of the German language. The writing on the cake translates to, "To your birthday much luck."
Birthday boy with baby Eleanor
As usual, Samuel wanted nothing to do with the cake. Although, once we gave him a spoon, he had a great time making a mess! (Yes, he IS wearing a girl's shirt. Grammie only had girl play-clothes on hand!)
I found myself sitting in the dark car praying for him as I drove. I was struck by the realization that I haven't been praying for him as I should. There was a time that I used every waking moment to pray for him....as I showered, as I walked, as I talked, as I ate....every single moment of every single day. I remember spending hours praying over specific parts of his body, one by one, and praying for his future. The little room I used to pump breast milk for him became my altar. I can't count the times I knelt by the chair in that room as I prayed and cried for Samuel.
All of that to say, I was appalled at how easily we forget what God has done in our lives...how quickly we go to Him in times of crisis but how we fall away when life is good. This week was a reminder. Not that Samuel was in any danger (in fact, I should be thankful that we are dealing with normal issues such as colds and teething) but it was an opportunity for me to reflect on how far we have come, and how I should continue to pray specifically for Samuel as I did when he was in the NICU.
Hopefully he will be on the mend soon!
Wow. I felt so convicted after reading your last few paragraphs. It was the same for me. I used my pumping time (and pretty much every other waking moment) to pray for Jack and his health. I don't EVER want to take for granted how he is doing and I want to continue to remember that it's because of God's protection that we've made it this far. I hope Mr. Samuel starts feeling like his happy self soon!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear Samuel is not feeling well. My 4 year old constantly reminds us to pray. It's so sweet; we used to end our table prayer with "We pray for Camdyn and Cade to get strong and healthy" when they were in the NICU. Now we end our prayer with "We pray for everyone to stay strong and healthy". She thinks that sentence is as common as saying Amen. If we are somewhere else and they don't say that, she looks at everyone like they are so dumb and finishes the prayer for them. I love it! It's a great reminder to continue our prayers in the good times as well.
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