Relief!

Charlotte Madison has been the quietest baby you could possibly imagine. Seriously- the only time she cries is when we check her diaper. She doesn’t cry when she’s hungry; she doesn’t cry when she has a dirty diaper; she doesn’t cry when she’s cold or hot; best of all, she doesn’t cry during the night! That is, until we have family arrive to meet her for the first time. It’s like she knows we want to impress! Last night for the first time since she was born, she was simply inconsolable. We tried new clothes, new swaddling, changing positions, changing rooms, changing lighting- desperation sets in quicker now. She was so upset, and we had no clue how to relieve the suffering. Finally- mercifully- we checked her diaper only to discover that it was little more than a dirty diaper (why we didn’t think of that earlier, I don’t know- chalk it up to another new lesson learned). I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to help your child go from inconsolable screaming to happily eating her next meal. It’s more than simple relief that she’s no longer crying (although I would be lying if I said that wasn’t part of it). It’s a sense of comfort that your child is no longer in pain- a sense of peace that she has been healed of her affliction. You need to know- we were desperate to ease Charlotte’s hurt and our heart’s only desire was to restore her world to order. If that’s our response to suffering, surely God responds more perfectly. Surely God hears the cries of His children and is compelled as a loving parent to respond compassionately and lovingly to ease pain.
PS- at this rate, I’ll be able to preach for years without having to google sermon illustrations again…