Okay, here's the story.....first, some background information....
Thatcher is one of those "oral" children....yes, he's vocal and loud, but what I'm talking about is that he likes to put things in his mouth....not like a toddler, but more like an adult might chew on a pencil or a pen top....He does it to get a rise at this point and he LOVES to push the limits!! I'm always getting on to him about that and telling him he might choke....with that said....
Sunday after church the boys flew upstairs to rip off the church clothes and change to play clothes. We heard them giggling and wrestling up there and then Jack came down dressed ready to go outside. He told us that Thatcher was upstairs "piddling" as usual.
So, Jack goes outside and about 10 minutes later we hear bawling from upstairs....Thatcher comes bolting downstairs and runs to us in the den. He's gagging and putting his finger in his mouth. We thought he was sick and trying to throw up. We both start towards him and he throws up. Chris takes him to the bathroom to clean him up and I head for the carpet cleaner. I get down on my knees to clean and notice something "shiney" in the mess....
yes, a nickel......................................................................
I instantly knew what had happened and my heart skipped a few hundred beats. I asked him if he swallowed the nickel and he said he did.......We were in shock.....I wanted to burst into tears, but I had to help him be "okay"......
I couldn't stop thinking about it.....I haven't stopped thinking about it.....I thought of all the worst case scenarios....what if he hadn't made it down the stairs......what if it was so lodged in there he couldn't cry....what if......
Later, I was looking at the very nickel that had been stuck in my little boy's throat hours before.
I was drawn into the tiny writing of words so powerful "In God We Trust"....God was telling me then what he'd been telling me all along. I can't be there with them 24/7......I can't control every situation.....I can't force them to always make good decisions...but I can take 4 tiny words and imprint them on my heart everytime I'm fearful.....because it is In God I trust! Thank you God that you are ALWAYS in control. That you WILL be with them 24/7.....that if they start NOW hiding YOUR word in their hearts they might not sin against YOU.....
That was a moment in time worth a whole lot more......than five cents....
2 comments:
When I was about 7 years old, the marvel of sugar sweetened kool-aid had appeared on the shelves of our local store.
Mom liked for us to wait for treats...sometimes days on end it seemed... (probably was 2 hours.) Anyway, my sister Norma absconded with the round box of sweet powder and we along with Rusty went into the bathroom with a spoon to put large quantites in our mouths.
Unfortunately, I could never do anything without getting caught :-)...and when the spoon came up to my mouth, I inhaled...and that powder as a large hard wet ball got lodged in my throat.
I couldn't breathe...I couldn't see...all I knew was I was needed to find mom and dad. I beat on the bathroom door...I couldn't inhale, I couldn't exhale...
My dad grabbed me and had me over the kitchen sink...in the background I kept hearing mom screaming, "when you start breathing again I'm going to beat you to an inch of your life."
Dad stuck his huge finger down my throat and dislodged the sugary mass and suddenly I could suck oxygen again.
I don't think I'll ever forget the near floating feeling I had as my body began to be deprived of oxygen...and the fear that gripped me as a little child. I can only feel Thatcher's fear as his immature thinking raced to try not to get caught, raced to figure out what to do and then raced in panic, knowing something wasn't right.
Praise God he could breathe...praise God in His little mind...and in our big ones we truly do see that we can indeed trust in God.
By the way...mom didn't spank me that night because "I learned my lesson."
I was just rereading this blog...as I often do...two or three times a day.
I was looking at the picture of the nickel and all the sudden I saw the word "Liberty". Wow.
Liberty because "In God we Trust". Praise God He takes care of the little ones and their parents.
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