Learning to Lean into God’s Abundance
Our family was at a baseball tournament after moving to a new state a few years ago. We hadn’t found a house, were living in an Airbnb, and my husband had yet to start his new job, but rest assured, we had found a baseball team for our boys. Priorities right?
We had been at the field Friday night, all day Saturday, and it was now dusk on Sunday. A film of dirt covered my legs, and I was ready for a shower and bed. I was excited our son and his new team had made it to the final game, but if I’m honest, sometimes, at tournaments like these, I secretly wish for our team to lose a game just to earn back a sliver of my already spent weekend.
Our five-year-old daughter was growing bored and had found a group of kids her age to run around with inside one of the batting cages with nets separating the lanes. In about the sixth inning, I heard a blood-curdling scream and looked over to see my daughter holding her face, hands full of blood. I knew we had a mouth injury, tilted her head back, and realized she was missing a tooth. Let me be clear: we did not enter the fields with a loose tooth. A kid had swung the net, and in a freak accident, her tooth got caught in it.
Thankfully, a nurse was in the stands, who checked to ensure the open wound was clotting correctly. It was 8:30 at night, and being completely new to the area, we didn’t even have an after-hours dentist to call. We cleaned her up and promised the tooth fairy would pay her more than her brothers ever received, and the idea of that helped stop her tears.
The following morning, I took her to the dentist, and what he said surprised me. He said if we wanted a tooth injury, this was the perfect kind and that the tooth being ripped out root and all actually offered better healing in the long run. It seemed illogical to use the word injury with better and perfect, but isn’t this true in other areas of our lives?
We walk through hard seasons, fractured relationships, financial struggles, career problems, diagnoses and more. And sometimes these things feel like our hearts are being ripped out, and we are experiencing our own extractions – the soul kind. Yet sometimes, God is offering us a better kind of healing.
In times like these, how can we intentionally lean into whatever God is trying to teach us through them?
One way is to reflect, journal and pray through a couple of these questions.
- Is there currently an idol in your life He is trying to make you aware of?
- Is there an unhealthy relationship in which He wants you to let go or create boundaries?
- Remember the past few years and seasons He’s brought you through. Are there any themes you see?
- Have you learned something new about the character of God?
- Are there emotional wounds you need to work through?
My daughter’s mouth stopped bleeding the night her tooth was ripped out, but the gums surrounding the area took weeks to fully heal.
Healing takes time; sometimes, we don’t even realize we need it.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (ESV). I think this better healing God offers is just one of the ways he gives us abundant life, and what a beautiful gift it is.
Sarah Nichols is a writer who loves encouraging women by sharing hope-filled stories that point others to Jesus. She lives in Tucson, AZ, with her husband and four kids. You can find more from Sarah at http://sarahnicholswrites.com
