Owwww!

I took this picture this morning. I emailed it to JB and see if there was anything I needed to do for my little Elijah's foot. He stepped on a plastic "car carrier" and just skinned his toes. How painful does that look? Typical Elijah though barely missed a beat. He cried for about 10 seconds and then sat down next to me for the rest of the evening just looking at his foot and reading books with me. He let me put bandaids on both toes this morning, but I could tell he wished Daddy was there to fix it.

Isaac watched over my shoulder the whole time and tried to comfort his little brother. "Daddy had to give me stitches. I had a bandaid. I'm sorry you hurt your toes Ewijah. My boo boo is better now!" I love listening to them talk to each other.

It is so difficult to see your kids hurting or in pain. It often reminds me of how the Lord must feel about us. I wonder how hard it was for him to watch me wander through our years of infertility. He knew this was part of my growing process and that I had to go through it. He had the bandaids to help me feel better. But I still had a limp as I tried to muddle through the grief. It's like Elijah and his foot. I hold him when it hurts. I comfort him when He cries. I love him so much and am so sorry for this pain. But the pain is part of him learning that next time he tries to jump over a plastic car carrier, this is what might happen!

I think of that too when I ask one of the boys for a hug or a kiss. Many times they tell me "no." They get mad at me sometimes. They cry sometimes. But I really don't think about all the times they said "no" when they finally say "yes" and crawl up into my lap. I love any and all love they want to share with me -- no matter how long it has been since a past hug or kiss. I am comforted knowing that is what God does with me. If it has been awhile since I said yes, he doesn't care. He is just so happy to finally have me in his lap.

How much I love my boys is only a fraction of God's love for us. How intense must it be!