Her father scooped her up in his arms to comfort her as she cried. There was blood coming from her nose, but it soon became apparent when they went to wipe her nose that the corner of her nostril was detached, and the situation became much more serious. My heart goes out to my son and daughter-in-law as I'm sure I would have felt my heart in my throat and my knees buckle when I saw what they must have seen at that moment. It was obvious this was going to require a trip to the Emergency room.
If you've ever had to go to the Emergency, you know you're probably looking at 3-6 hours from the time you arrive to the time you leave. That's a long time to wait for anyone and, in my opinion, that's a lot to ask of a 20-month-old toddler. Now I'm not sure how the decision of who would take her was made, but it was my son who took her to the Emergency while my Daughter-in-law stayed home to be with our grandson. It is my understanding my son and granddaughter had to sit 3 hours in the waiting room before they even got to see a doctor for the initial exam and approximately another 2 before they were fixed and released to go home.
As messy and as upsetting as this story is, I love the story behind the story! You see, it's a story of two parents that love and care for their children. They were there for them, watching over them, allowing them the freedom to play and explore and yet when a crisis happened, they immediately sprung into action. They tended to their needs, in this case medical.
I love how my granddaughter felt safe in the arms of both her mom and her dad. It amazes me that she could sit for what ended up being hours on her daddy's lap in the Emergency waiting room. To me that's a good indication she felt safe and secure in the arms of her daddy. I can only imagine the conversations they had or the silly games they must have had to make up to pass the time. My son would have had to meet her at her level of childlike thinking to keep her calm and content enough to stay with him all those hours. As parents we need to get quite creative sometimes to hold our little one's attention!
What I love about this story from the spiritual perspective as a believer in the New Covenant of Grace is how it reveals the story of a loving God, a God of love and compassion, mercy and grace. A God that allows us the freedom to explore and make mistakes, and yet a God that will come to our rescue in our time of need. You see, He was there all along! He doesn't promise us that our life will be perfect, for we live in a fallen world and as I've heard my son say "sh*t happens!", but He does promise that He will never leave us not forsake us.
He even says that He will remain faithful even when we are not! I love how, just as my granddaughter sat on her daddy's lap and in his arms, we too can find safety and comfort in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. His arms are always open, and we can climb up on His lap any time of day or night and He will comfort us in His embrace. Imagine if my son had told his daughter that she had to clean herself off, quit crying and wipe the blood off her own face before she could sit in his lap? I know he would never do that, nor would a loving Heavenly Father. We don't have to be afraid to come to Him as we are, crying or bloody for He is patient and accepting, He will listen to us and wants us to be rest assured that He can be trusted.
Imagine the hurt it would have caused if my son or daughter-in-law had gotten angry with my granddaughter, or told her that it was her mistake, and she must just live with the consequences of her actions? And yes, my granddaughter may very well have a small scar form the cut, but she will not bear any deep emotional or spiritual scars as she would have if she was rejected by them because of her accident.
No conversation or interaction is too childlike for God. He just wants us to simply come as we are, with all our worries and burdens, wounds, scars, and all; be they physical, emotional and or spiritual.
He'll meet us right where we are at, we don't need to clean up our act first. If we needed to change ourselves first, that would be the God of religion, not the God of relationship. The God of the New Covenant is a God of relationship, His desire is a relationship that is reflected through His family, a family that reflects His love and compassion, mercy and grace. Now that's a beautiful story!
Hebrew 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."
2 Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
Romans 8:39 "Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
All scripture verses from NIV translation Bible.
