We are constantly being bombarded with the Unseen in our lives: the unseen carcinogens in our air, the unseen pedophiles in our neighborhood, the unseen bugs in our mattresses, the unseen stalker on the internet, the unseen germs in the schools.
There are other Unseen things you may not be aware of: the unseen abuse taking place in a home you pass every day, the unseen brokenness in the heart of someone you work with, the unseen pain of someone sitting beside you at church, the unseen financial harships experienced by a close friend or family member.... and the Unseen victims of our own thoughtlessness.
This time of year, many of us take extra precautions to prevent picking up the latest 'bug' from the grocery store cart or the play equipment at the mall. I even carry hand sanitizer on my purse for ease of use in all circumstances.
But i am always amazed at the level of ignorance (and i mean just that - ignorance, not knowing better) of my fellow moms when dealing with germs. We panic about using a gas station potty with a toddler (aak! the germs!), but we bring a sick child to the grocery store to pick up their meds for strep throat. We freak out about handwashing after school, but we let our kids push the 'little basket' without wiping it down when we're done (right - not before we use it, but before we pass it on to the next person's child).
What i know now that i didn't realize 5 years ago is what i hope to share with all of you. There is a little girl with a heart condition who has to keep her immune system suppressed for the rest of her life. This little girl is one face among many Unseen. She is, for me, a reason i carry hand sanitizer on my purse, wipe buggies down at the store, avoid bringing my children to 'germy' places during flu season, and pay attention to every sniffle, cough, and tummyache in our home. This little girl cannot get some of the vaccines the rest of us argue about. This little girl has to be hospitalized if she contracts the chicken pox. This little girl spends 3 weeks with a slight cold instead of a few days.
She is one of the Unseen. You never know that one of the people at the doctor's office, or the next person to use your shopping cart, or the next child on the slide is on immunosuppressants. You may never meet one of these people face-to-face. But they are out there. And our thoughtlessness over something like medicating a sick child to send him to school or church is a lot more to them than it would seem to us.
Just because you can't see something, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
air...
God...
stress...
pain...
love...
...and the Unseen.
There are other Unseen things you may not be aware of: the unseen abuse taking place in a home you pass every day, the unseen brokenness in the heart of someone you work with, the unseen pain of someone sitting beside you at church, the unseen financial harships experienced by a close friend or family member.... and the Unseen victims of our own thoughtlessness.
This time of year, many of us take extra precautions to prevent picking up the latest 'bug' from the grocery store cart or the play equipment at the mall. I even carry hand sanitizer on my purse for ease of use in all circumstances.
But i am always amazed at the level of ignorance (and i mean just that - ignorance, not knowing better) of my fellow moms when dealing with germs. We panic about using a gas station potty with a toddler (aak! the germs!), but we bring a sick child to the grocery store to pick up their meds for strep throat. We freak out about handwashing after school, but we let our kids push the 'little basket' without wiping it down when we're done (right - not before we use it, but before we pass it on to the next person's child).
What i know now that i didn't realize 5 years ago is what i hope to share with all of you. There is a little girl with a heart condition who has to keep her immune system suppressed for the rest of her life. This little girl is one face among many Unseen. She is, for me, a reason i carry hand sanitizer on my purse, wipe buggies down at the store, avoid bringing my children to 'germy' places during flu season, and pay attention to every sniffle, cough, and tummyache in our home. This little girl cannot get some of the vaccines the rest of us argue about. This little girl has to be hospitalized if she contracts the chicken pox. This little girl spends 3 weeks with a slight cold instead of a few days.
She is one of the Unseen. You never know that one of the people at the doctor's office, or the next person to use your shopping cart, or the next child on the slide is on immunosuppressants. You may never meet one of these people face-to-face. But they are out there. And our thoughtlessness over something like medicating a sick child to send him to school or church is a lot more to them than it would seem to us.
Just because you can't see something, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
air...
God...
stress...
pain...
love...
...and the Unseen.
I love it! Thank you...you are such a blessing to us and we are forever grateful to have you as a friend and neighbor!!steve, kristy, Shiloh, Sydney, and fender
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