Well, Parker had his first “accident” today. We were at the playground, and I was getting my workout following him around, helping him up steps and down slides. All of a sudden, I lost my grip on him at the same time that he squirmed away from me, and BAM, he fell forward and whacked his chin on part of the metal structure.
At that moment, my world went into fast forward, and a million questions raced through my head.
Is he okay? What did he hurt? Where is all this blood coming from? Why do tongues have to bleed so much? Why didn’t I restock my diaper bag before coming? Does he have all of his teeth?
Well, he did cut his tongue, but it stopped bleeding pretty quickly. He scraped his chin, but it wasn’t deep. And he does have all of his teeth, but he did chip one of them. Plus, we were close to my friend Lesley’s house, so we whizzed over there and she fixed me up with all kinds of first aid supplies.
So, it could have been worse. But wow, it made me sick to my stomach thinking about how I wished I could have held on a little tighter or kept him away from the potential danger altogether. How I wish that I could keep him in this little safe bubble away from anything potentially harmful. Tears are sliding down my cheeks as I think about it, because today, it’s something that I can fix, something where I can kiss him and make it “all better”, but I know there are going to be plenty of times where I won’t be able to protect him…physical injuries… disappointments…broken friendships…and I will wish with all my heart that I could.
The kids both went down for a nap and I went downstairs, still with a heavy heart, but as I was matching socks and folding pajamas, I nonchalantly started to hum the hymn, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. Thanks to God for bringing such a perfect song to my mind. Here are the words of the 3rd verse and the refrain:
What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Gracie is always getting hurt – falling off this, that, and the other thing – you were lucky that Madi isn’t such a daredevil! It’s hard when you realize how much is out of your hands. These bumps and bruises will be mild in comparison to what we’ll want to protect our kiddos from in the future – you know? Hard to believe God loves them more than we do, but He does! The old hymns are the most comforting aren’t they?