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| By Angeline M Duran Santiago |
Before the sun stretches his arms, and throws his heavenly blanket off, and away into the shadows, most parents are up and awake, preparing for the day ahead. If you're like me, having to be at work early, then maybe you too have days where we have to prepare our kids and run off to catch a train or bus. As we walk out the house, we are non stop with our prayers asking for God's undivided attention with our loved ones, reminding God to protect, bless, inspire and be with our children.
But, what do you do when, as you are placing a breakfast tray near your child, they say, "Mom, I don't feel well. I don't think I can make it to school today." You feel their head for a fever, you look at them. In my case, you check the blood glucose levels, and well, the stress begins. "What do I do, Lord?"
School has just started. What do I do?
We pray. We do what we can for our child's comfort and then remind our child that they have to try to get up and go to school. There's no one to stay at home with them and we can't be out from work. I mean, unless you know there's an emergency, then you just call out, right?
I've learned to pray, to really pray for my child right there and then. I've learned to get in bed with my child and take a few minutes to just hold them, wrap my arms around them and love on them. My Mom always says, "Healing hugs." and they work. I quickly look for something, anything, to bring relief, yes, even the Tylenol for pain.
But, sometimes, many times, even when it hurts, we tell our child, "You can't stay here. Get up. Get ready. Let's go."
And as I said those words to my son this morning, they continued to echo in my mind as I stood there, crunched sardine style on the M train. "You can't stay here." We can't linger in our present condition. We can't remain in our angst of the moment. The sickness, the pain, the discomfort, the problem is real and we can't ignore it, but don't stay there. Get up. Move and get going.
I've chosen to teach my son to get up when he is down. I've chosen to show my son to crawl out of bed when necessary by not staying under the covers when my body begs for more sleep. Life is not a vacation and if we allow our children to lay back and give up, especially during hard times, we will not give them the tools to be over comers, to strive, to pursue their dreams and set realistic goals.
To you, to my children, and to myself I say, "You can't stay here."
There's more to find, to accomplish, to grab hold to. There's a reason for your next breath. There's a purpose for you to be where you are expected to be. God has ordained it to be so and you're needed somewhere today, yes, even through your pain and trouble, to be a blessing to someone else, to help someone, to hold someone or to listen to someone. In your challenges, your hands can still hold someone else. In your tears, you can still encourage someone who may not have the answers like you do.
You can't stay here. Get up and go!
In your weakness, God's strength moves powerfully in you and through you.
In your frailty, God empowers and uses you to do what you have been chosen to do.
God uses you to be a light, to be joy, and to be comfort for so many without it.
Click on this link to be blessed:
(Recorded LIVE)
One last thing.....
You can't stay where you are.
Get up. Go!
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