Learning and Growing in a Job Season

It’s been a long time.

About a month ago I thought about writing a post about how life has been a struggle for the past 6 months. Since September, my boys have been sick every single month. That means that my little Josh has only had his first two months of his life without having a sickness of some type. At the beginning of November my parents got Covid. Then our household got it at the beginning of December. We followed that up with RSV. There were moments when I feared for Josh’s life as he struggled to cough because his lungs were in such bad shape. I was totally sleep deprived. I was weary. I was sad for my boys. My heart ached for them because I knew I couldn’t make them get better. Every month was a heart dropping realization that sickness had visited us once again.

Besides having to watch my boys suffer through sickness, I’ve been sad to miss many weeks of church and getting together with my family. It’s a lonely feeling to stay home and avoid contact with everyone every single month. When my boys had RSV I was listening to a preacher talking about Job. He was saying he felt like he was having his own little Job season in his life. I was feeling that too. One thing he mentioned was the one thing that lit a fire under me. He said that Satan was after Job’s integrity. Satan wanted Job to dishonor God as he suffered. Job was surrounded by people who kept telling him to “curse God and die.” Job lost EVERYTHING. He didn’t just deal with sickness for his family. He lost all of his children, his livestock, everything. Following these events he says “‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.'” Job maintained his integrity. Since that night I have had a different mindset with the sickness that hits our house. Although it is always devastating to see my boys going through another sickness, I’ve also allowed God to teach me. Instead of just sinking in despair I started seeking information on ways to be healthy by using what God has already provided on this earth.

I started working through the Treasures of Healthy Living Bible study by Annette Reeder. I’m also reading the nutrition manual which has opened my eyes to so many truths about the food we eat. For many years now I’ve believed that God provided the way to health and healing through His creation on this earth. Until now, I didn’t realize what that looked like. I’m only in the beginning of this journey, but I have really enjoyed learning what I can do to keep my family healthy. I am amazed at God’s goodness more and more as I see the connections to what God called “good” and what those good things do for our bodies.

Today I can say I am thankful for the lesson I’m learning as (I hope) we are near the end of the cold and flu season. God truly never lets any suffering go to waste. We just need to be listening for His lesson. I look forward to learning more about what God’s Word teaches about healthy living.