The unique and funny thing was that it wasn't because he was up to his usual antics at all! He was in fact just sitting. No one was in the room - it went from perfectly quiet to screaming in a matter of seconds. One of the other kids ran in first as I usually don't run - I always wait to see if it is a "true" cry and most of the time, it's not real, or I wait for, "Mom! There's blood!" This time, I heard cry #1 and thought, "Hmmm... that sounded bad," then silence, as he caught his breath for wail #2. When I heard that cry, I ran. I was just around the corner and was there in a matter of seconds to find him on the floor, in a snake suit, holding his head, screaming. He took off his hand as he felt his own blood and that's when I realized, "How in the world???? He's hurt bad."
I took him to the sink, got a cloth, and calmly demonstrated to the other children how to get a wound to stop bleeding! It was quite helpful, I think, to show them how to do this for their own first aid one day! It stopped fairly quickly. I took a look and saw what looked like a hole. He had punctured his head on what? He was calming down, so we asked him to explain what had happened. He had been just sitting on the chair near a stool, then somehow his foot got caught under the rug and it made him lose his balance (I'm totally guessing as it makes no sense....) causing him to come down hard on a soft cushion! I'm serious, he hurt his head on a soft cushion - well, ok, not entirely, but under the soft cushion, is a corner on the stool and sure enough, he found the only part that could hurt him and wham - punctured his little head.
Shortly after, Daddy came in - we assessed and decided it would probably need a stitch or two. So off we went, in his snake suit, to the emergency room. Within 3 hours he was all taken care of - no stitch, just a butterfly bandage squeezing the skin together to cover up the hole that would have been there.
What was interesting during this whole experience, especially upon reflection, was the timing of this whole event. It took place on the night when we would be giving a talk on creating a vision for your family. This is quite typical we found out, once we became members of the board. Apparently each monthly meeting, the board members would recount their days and they would realize the spiritual attacks had intensified on the night when they would be hosting a meeting - we soon found this, too. The dog attacks on our property had been on the night of our homeschool meeting, too. The only way to really account for this, other than coincidence, is to realize Satan hates what we are about and anything he could do to mess that up he'll try. It didn't totally work though as I know people were praying that day. I was able to remain calm which is shocking - normally I wouldn't be able to handle blood and mess that well. We were able to get care fairly quickly. We still managed to get the talk finished, though it wasn't perhaps as polished as it could have been. All in all it was a great night.
After many many weeks of talking and praying about what we wanted to say, my husband and I finally decided we would focus on Nehemiah. That book gives an incredible example of a man who had a vision for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and despite opposition, went ahead and achieved the goal. This was what my husband tried to communicate as well to the parents that came that night. I may leave out a point here or there, but this, in essence, was what he said..
First, Nehemiah had a burden. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down. His first action was to fast and pray. Then he repented, on behalf of the nation of Israel. His tremendous sadness was noticed by the king and he was asked about it. Nehemiah told him what was concerning him. He asked if he could leave his important job to finish the rebuilding of the walls. Amazingly, the king let him go with the resources he would need and all the time he would need. Off Nehemiah went. He first assessed the situation by going around the whole city and seeing how bad it was. Then he made a plan and had each family rebuild a part of the wall. Opposition began almost immediately, but this didn't stop the work, it only slowed it down temporarily as then he set it up so that some families kept working, while others kept guard. The people were afraid and wanted to quit, but Nehemiah reminded them of the vision, to fight in the strength of the Lord. The goal was finally achieved, but the city was never as grand as it had been - there were consequences for the nation's sin. Then, to Nehemiah's dismay, Israel fell back into their own patterns of behaviour. To keep the new walls built, it meant constant watching and correcting of Israel. They couldn't be left on their own.
The parallels are amazing. We, too, as parents, have a burden - we want our children saved. We want them to have godly spouses, godly offspring and not just this generation, but many generations to come. We want to educate our children to be able to provide for their families. We want them to be debt-free and have no bondage in their lives financially. So, what do we do? We fast and pray. We encouraged the parents to assess their lives and what their burdens are, especially for their children and then to stop and take it to the Lord and pray. For those who have never fasted before we encouraged them to do this. Fasting will reveal the plan God has for us on how to get rid of the burden. It was the first time some had considered this.
Then, we said, repent. Repent of anything that comes to your mind, any area where you've fallen short, perhaps in the decisions you've made in the past, or anything that may be creating this burden you have. Then, like Nehemiah, go to the King, the true King, the Lord of this earth and ask for His help. Our King will give us the resources and time we need to accomplish His will. Like Nehemiah, it'll mean assessing the situation, going around our "walls" and finding where they are broken down in our lives. Then, as families, we'll need to rebuild these walls. But, we reminded everyone there, opposition will come, the naysayers who will hear about your vision for your family and they'll tell you what you are doing is wrong or they'll make fun of you. There are times when we, too, will have fear. We will want to quit. It's hard to take sometimes, but we can't let it stop the work of rebuilding - we must persevere. And we must stand guard for each other! Finally, the walls will be rebuilt - we'll be sending our children out into the world. Our job will be done, but we never stop being parents. We must be there if they fall into old patterns or if we, as parents, fall into old patterns. We're all so prone to that, just like the Israelites.
Finally, we talked about how this is being fleshed out in our family, how we are taking our burdens to the Lord, how we have fasted and prayed, asked God for a plan, assessed the situation, grabbed the necessary resources, fought against opposition, corrected, adjusted and monitored each decision as we went along.....it's a lot of work being a parent to 8 souls!
The book of Nehemiah is a great encouragement - so much can be gained by studying it. We just scratched the surface of this amazing book. As usual, whenever we are required to put something together, like this talk on vision, we are the ones who truly benefit. We gained so much by talking through it together.
Meanwhile, Little J is well on the road to recovery - some might think I over-spiritualized the situation, maybe, but I don't think so. I think it was like the opposition Nehemiah experienced, trying to derail us before meeting with a group of parents that are trying to rebuild walls in their families' lives. I'm glad it wasn't anything more serious.
So, tonight, it'll be with a group of seeking parents, wondering if homeschooling is for them. I'll be praying all day for spiritual protection as once again we head into battle...
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