"Like as a Mother Comforteth"

The past few weeks have been chock full of children (and parents) with either croup, coughs,

 or stomach aches and other maladies, especially poor Hannah. 

She had a fever and wasn't feeling well for a day or two and suddenly, it was full blown croup.

It almost always hits suddenly.

And usually in the middle of the night.

So I was just ready to hit the sack when I heard this awful sound, and Hannah was having a hard time catching her breath, wheezing and whooping, and coughing so hard she nearly threw up.

Both she and I panicked for a moment, and then she was the one who hollered, "It's croup!"

And I got her to calm down and get a drink for her dry throat, and then Jonathan and I bundled her up warmly under blankets under an open window with cold air coming in--the best way to treat croup.

The cold air soothes the swollen airways and brings down the swelling so they can breathe better.

Hannah kept moaning and waking up a bit frantic, so after countless times of jumping out of bed to go to her side, I ended up bringing couch cushions in by her temporary bedside and sleeping beside her.

Jonathan got this picture of us the next morning!

Yeah, after a night like that,  not everything is spic and span. 

And yeah, I could never stretch completely out on just two couch cushions.

Should've brought in three. 

And the next night, while I filled the vaporizer and diffuser and got things ready for Hannah to sleep again,

Jonathan took Hannah outside, all bundled up, to the porch swing, to get her a good dose of cold air, which we hoped would stave away the worst of the coughing.

It worked. 

Between that cold air dose, a window open a little, and the vaporizer and diffuser, she slept all night.

But that first awful night, all it took was a little comforting pat from her mommy to calm our little daughter down. She would stir with a bit of a wail and a moan and a cough perhaps, and I would jump and run to her side and give her a comforting pat, and she would fall asleep again without waking clear up. 

"Like as a mother comforteth." I kept thinking of that Scripture.

Just a little comforting pat from Mommy, and all was well again.
All was well,
because Mommy was there.

And all is well when God is there.
We don't always feel the comforting pat, so to speak.
Sometimes we have to seek for it, yet other times we are surprised with the joy of His genuine comfort,
words from Scripture, encouragement from family or friends.

All is well when God is there.