Rapid Triage

By Kandice Adams

A few months ago, my husband texted to tell me that Mia had fallen from her bicycle and it looked as though she had injured, and possibly fractured her ankle. Immediately guilt washed over me as I recalled the events in which my son walked around for days with an illness before seeking medical attention, and I decided quickly that I wouldn’t be that parent again.  When I arrived home, I watched Mia walk with a limp, and in the dim light of dusk, noted that her ankle was swollen and bruised, so off we went to get it looked at.

While we were sitting there in the compact room awaiting an x-ray, I used the opportunity, and the great lighting, to really exam her ankle.  I disregarded my little girl’s whimpers; I wiped off the smudges of-- soil, not bruises; and I pressed around the swollen ankle, only to find out, it was a mosquito bite.  Oh, and the limp, disappeared as soon as she learned the truth.

I would have had a good chuckle if it wasn’t the story of my life.

It may seem that this isn’t a big deal, but this is not the only time I have been duped by what I see, nor is it the first time that I have allowed my limited knowledge of a situation to guide my decision making.  More often than I would like to admit, I rapidly triage circumstances and draw hasty conclusions that are clouded by residual hurts from my past or the misinformed advice of others. 

This escapade to the Emergency Department may have been expensive financially, but spiritually, I gained a wealth of wisdom because the Spirit caused me to stop and consider how impressionable our children are, and how important it is that we walk in wisdom and clarity when raising them.  

As rooted moms, our primary duty is to raise children who will become followers of Christ and be active members of a body who will zealously impart the gospel to a desperate, hurting world.  

To be successful in our effort, we must be able to examine how we raise them and every situation in which our children are involved, in the good lighting of Christ.  It is so important that we wipe away the smudges of dirt– the bad advice of well-meaning friends or society, our bruised egos and our sullied pasts.  It is so important that we deal with our exaggerated limps, where healing is long overdue.  It is important, as their parents, that we are able to raise them with wisdom and lead them into all truth.

Instead of showing them how to walk with a spiritual limp due to insults from long ago, such as fractured friendships, broken promises, or shattered hopes, and let’s show them our God is able to heal all wounds.

Instead of allowing society’s short-term solutions to sully how we raise our kids, let’s wipe away the specks of dirt such as the decaying moral standards, and point them to our God who is constant.

Instead of teaching our kids to rely on what they see on social media, on television, or in the world, let’s teach them to rely on His truth.

It is when we raise them with the wisdom imparted by the Spirit of God that we are effective in our walk before them.  It is only when we show our children to walk in the light of Christ that we will reach our ultimate goal of raising disciples for Christ.


Word of the Day:
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13 (NLT)

Prayer:
Father thank you for blessing me with the opportunity of raising children for your kingdom.  I know that my children are highly impressionable, please guide me, as their mom, to walk before them in all truth and teach me to raise them with the wisdom imparted by your Spirit, in Jesus’ name, amen.

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