Seth and I spent nearly the entire day dealing with the doctor visit and then a trip to the lab for blood work. After a 45 minute wait in the ‘waiting’ room we were ushered into an exam room. Seth, still anxious, grabbed a hold of this plastic ball. For another thirty minutes we took turns seeing who could bounce it in the air with one hand and not letting it touch the ground.
Anything to pass the time. I’m glad it never came down to 20 games of ‘I Spy’. 😉
Our pediatrician confirmed Seth’s cold and an ear infection that must have formed over night. Dr. Barnhart checked his glands and pressed where I’m assuming his Thyroid is and he didn’t seem too concerned but he ordered the blood work anyway, just to be sure.
Seth’s voice is on the cusp of change but when Dr. Barnhart told him he’d have to go to the lab for blood work it was like hearing a hyena in distress. Glass shattering piercing squeals. I don’t know if it was to help Seth save his manly grace but suddenly Dr. Barnhart shows up with the paperwork for the lab and asks, “Seth, you want to arm wrestle?”
Seth giggled nervously, still bouncing around on the tips of his toes, and repeated the request, “Arm wrestle?”
Dr. Barnhart, probably a few years shy of retiring, has been our pediatrician since Seth was 2, so over a decade. He smiled wide, “Yeah, arm wrestle. Are you afraid I’ll beat you?”
Seth laughed. “Yeah!”
“Fine,” Dr. Barnhart interjected. “How do you know unless you try. That’s okay, I don’t want to arm wrestle you until you think you are man enough to beat me.”
Seth giggled again and finally stopped bouncing. “Okay, I’ll wrestle you!”
Maybe five seconds… But he was ready to go get the blood work done and over.
In the tiny lab room the technician did her best to calm his fears. His veins were tiny so he ‘got’ to use the smaller needle. I stood on the side of his free arm and told him to look at me. I could see the worry, fear and anxiety colliding in his eyes but I told him to look at me and to pray his way through it. When the needle got closer I mouthed a prayer over and over to him and he stared intently at me. He was no longer squealing or shaking. He took it like the young man that he is.
In a matter of minutes she got what she needed and he was done. The anxiety melted away. “That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
Once he tried to take the tape off his hairy arm I think he realized that’s the real pain!
There are so many aspects of life that we run away from because we think we aren’t strong enough, that we won’t have the courage to withstand the pain, or that it will alter us in some way that we’ll never recover. But the truth is that God made us resilient and courageous. He didn’t make us invincible. We are undoubtedly going to experience many facets of pain in our life…but when we come out on the other side, and with HIM we always will, then we are that much stronger.
Plus, sometimes these painful moments are tests for us to recognize the strength we have which might be needed to accomplish a task God has in store for our purpose. But if you don’t believe in yourself then you’ll never realize what you can accomplish.
How do you know unless you try?
Blessings
Shannon