I knew the day would come.
Remember a few weeks ago when I was singing praises on how well Zay takes his thyroid medicine? I knew he would one day come to realize that chewing up a dry, chalky-tasting pill isn’t as exhilarating as he once thought.
It happened one day, earlier this week. I decided to handle the situation with a clever little approach…something called DISTRACTION. Toddlers are an easy target for this! Get them excited and entertained and then sneakily make your move! And what do you know - it worked! Phew! However, right after I won the first victory, I was already dreading the next day. Because if you know my boy, you know he might let you fool him once….but he’s quick. He WILL find you out. There is no tip-toeing around him!
So the following day. I grab his little pill, I start to approach him and as I do he plops his little bottom onto the floor, tosses his head back onto the carpet and throws an all-out tantrum. I simply walk away, while holding my composure. I was tempted to laugh at the response I got from him when I was just thinking about giving him his pill. "Pardon me, for not serving it to you on a gold platter, Isaiah James Austerman..."
About 30 minutes later, I attempt the pill-taking process again. Only this time I’m feeling much more confident and convinced that we WILL get the job done…tantrum or not.
Once again, Zay greets me with a firm headshake (no) and a frown. I calmly kneel down beside him, look into his sad little eyes and try to explain (in one-year old terms) how he needs to take his medicine because it will keep him healthy. Then I tell him that he needs to either take his medicine or he will have to stand in timeout. (I’m feeling incredibly guilty as I make this ultimatum…for goodness sakes, most kids get in trouble for not trying their broccoli at the dinner table – not exactly the same level of necessity…) Nevertheless, I had resolved that this was simply a non-negotiable situation in Zay’s life. Fair or not, it is just how it is. And because of that, he needs to obey.
So, off to the corner we go. And that’s where we stayed. For over 10 minutes! (that’s a long time in a one-year old’s life! Zay normally gets the point of timeout in about 30 seconds!) And the funniest part…Zay didn’t even fight me on staying in the corner. About every minute that passed, I would kneel down and ask him if he was ready to take his medicine. He would shake his head no, and I would tell him to turn around and face the wall. And he would follow my directions perfectly. Standing there, picking his little fingers on the wall’s surface, just waiting for me to ask him to turn around and look at me again.
I have to admit, I was heartbroken to have to punish Zay for not taking his medicine. But I just didn’t have the right answer on how to make him understand the importance of this little pill. Eventually, Zay came around. He let me pop the pill in his mouth and with a frown that took over his entire face, he ate the pill, quickly followed by a swig of his milk.
After the whole episode was over, I couldn’t help but reflect on the situation in a slightly different light. How often does God stare into my sad little eyes, and tries to explain to me in the simplest terms how important it is that I do some of the things I don’t want to do. That sometimes I have to chew a pill that leaves a bad taste in my mouth for the short term, but leaves me healthy and strong for the future He has planned for me.
As we wait for our house to sell, I’m anxious and exhausted from the daily toll of our long days. And I can just imagine God looking into my sad eyes, knowing that all I want is to not have to go through another long day of being away from my little boy, and serving my family at home. However, I know enough to know, that although I cannot understand why, I know that He is with us in this time of waiting. He is faithful. And He is letting me taste a little bit of that chalky pill, because it will make me stronger and more ready to serve Him in the future. I hope that Zay will always understand that, life isn’t always fair, but it is always good for those who trust in Him!
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. -1Peter 1:6-7
