Daddy Date Night

Ian took Charis out to dinner tonight. We were all supposed to go out to eat tonight with our other IM friends. A new couple has just moved to the area - we first met them when Ian was in his IM class last year this time. Unfortunately Cayman has been miserable today and has hardly stopped coughing. So I was not going to make the same mistake twice and take him out again tonight. Instead I asked Ian if he would take Charis with him - that child is a handful all of a sudden! She is busy, busy! I was a little tired of keeping up with her all day and taking care of my little man.

[caption id="attachment_1702" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="We broke down and bought a humidifier today...the number of items we will be packing in our van this next time around has increased dramatically!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1703" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="There's no telling how many times Cayman's watched this move this week! Thanks to Mrs. Linda at Lake Park for keeping my child occupied during his sickness!!!"][/caption]

I've been praying a lot over Cayman the past couple of days because I know how miserable he is! I used to get this type of cold all the time growing up - it seemed like it would happen twice a year every year I was in school. It is horrible - the cough is the worst! So I know what he's going through. After his last coughing fit (about 2 hours ago) which included him throwing up a few times in his bed and the bathroom, I finally prayed that the Lord would just take the sickness from his little body and pass it on to me! I hate seeing him suffering! It breaks my heart. As I was laying in bed with him tonight, trying to do whatever I could to make him feel a little more comfortable, I started thinking about whether Joseph and Mary ever had the same feelings as they watched their son dying. Often we think about how God felt when he watched Jesus on Calvary's Hill. But tonight for the first time, I wondered about what Mary and Joseph, Jesus'  earthly parents, went through as they watched their firstborn suffering. They were forced to stand and watch as Jesus was beaten and later crucified. If this virus is agonizing for Ian and me to watch Cayman go through, how much more agonizing must those three days have been for Mary and Joseph!

We are trying to teach Cayman that the same God that created the trees and grass (not the cars as I've had to point out a couple of times) cares about him intimately and wants a relationship with him. Of course we don't say it like that to him -- we definitely use two year old terminology. But...I've tried to use this week as a teaching moment for him. That same God cares about Cayman and knows what's wrong with him and is watching over him and listening to our prayers. I'm so thankful that I have a relationship with a God like that.