Immunize Me

By: Charity Gutierrez

Yesterday was our daughter’s four month check up at the doctor’s office.  Praise God that she has been very healthy since the moment she was born.  The doctor suggested her immunizations and I approved.  While waiting for the nurse to come with the shots I debated in my mind over their necessity, and struggled with the decision in terms of my faith.  I pondered, “Am I doubting God’s protective hand on her if I rely on man made injections to “strengthen” her?” 

Silly as it may sound, I talked with my daughter about what was going to happen.  I knew that she could not understand my words yet I felt the need to warn her and assure her.  I told her that soon someone was coming that would give her “boo-boos” in her legs.  That the boo-boos would hurt and make her feel yucky.  I told her not to worry because it would not be long before she would feel better and her body would be stronger in the end.  She just smiled and gurgled with her eyes starting to get heavy.  Then she began to drift off to sleep.

When the nurse entered my daughter was asleep in my arms.  She lay there completely oblivious to what was about to happen even though she had been warned.   I could see the shots in the nurses hand and inside I hurt knowing what was about to take place.  I stood holding her as administered a series of vaccines was approaching her. 

The first was in the form of a sweet tasting liquid.  The nurse gently woke her up and my daughter willingly slurped it up with no problem.  I thought about the liquid entering her body, how it was filled with hidden ingredients that would attack her unsuspecting body.  Sin is like that.  It seems harmless, often tastes good, yet slowly it will start to “wreck house”.

The next set was a series of three shots to her legs.  As she laid their still licking her lips from the first vaccines the nurse pulled out the needle and quickly jabbed it into her little chubby leg.  Immediately her eyes opened fully, her breath escaped and then it returned to let out a heart piercing scream.  Tears flowed, arms stretched out and her eyes fixed on me.  I put my hand to her face, spoke to her gently, yet I knew it was not time to rescue her.  She still had more to come.  I gave her a pacifier and she started to settle down, still trying to catch her breath.  She closed her eyes wanting to go back to sleep.

Then came the second shot.  And immediately came the same reaction.  This time her eyes fixed on me longer.  She looked to me with the face of someone who had been betrayed.  She looked to me, at the one who, if she knew the words to say it, seemingly betrayed her.  I continued to hold her close, even leaning over to kiss her.  I felt awful for the pain she was experiencing and I had to reassure myself that the doctor knew what was best.   

I could have told her “don’t look at me, look at the nurse.”  Yet I knew it was not the nurse’s fault, she was just the means by which the pain came. The nurse would just say, “Don’t look at me; look at the doctor.” Yet it was not the doctor’s fault, he only recommended it. The doctor would say, “The parent approved it.” So here the blame seems to falls on me.  Yet I am just a parent protecting my daughter from sickness.  Allowing a little bit of pain to prevent what could be grave pain had I not authorized the vaccines and allowing her to be made weak for a short time to strengthen her for a long time.  

Finally the third shot was administered and the nurse responds sweetly, “Yep, I think she has had enough.”  My daughter was hurting, confused, and tired.  I picked her up as quickly as I could and just held her.  She fell asleep within minutes. 

This morning her fever spiked as expected.  She was hurting.  I gave her Tylenol- and once again started reflecting on my faith.  See, I had allowed the pain to occur, yet I also had a pain reliever already purchased and in my cabinet.  When I saw her pain I brought it out and offered it to her.  She tasted its sweetness and drank it up willingly.  I held her and comforted her until she was settled down again.  Her fever settled.  We continued this cycle of fever, pain, medication and love a few times today and will continue it until her body has over come the attack of the immunizations.

So what did I learn?  The Main Thing: God is in Control.  He is the Master Planner.  He knows what is coming at us when we don’t even see it coming.  What we perceive as bad, He sees as good- as an opportunity for strengthening us, for the building up of our faith. He is watching to see our reactions to the many vaccines that will come our way and has the proper medication for whatever our reaction to the vaccines might be.

His medications are his many promises and we can find them all in His medicine cabinet- called “The Bible”. After all, Jesus Christ was the Word Made Flesh (John 1:14).  Like a bible broken open and powering out all of God’s power through His life saving promises, was Jesus Christ on the Cross. His body was pierced with a sword and blood flowed to cleanse the sin of all men.  In this same way our eyes pierce into the scriptures, spotting one and zoning in.  We say “I believe it and I claim this for me”  and our deliverance comes. 

 So I encourage you, next time you break open the bottle or wrapper of a medicine that is designed to aid in the healing of some part of your physical body or your emotions, think about Jesus.   Think about the pain that He allowed to enter His entire body so that you could be totally healed- not just physically and emotionally- but in a way that no medication can heal you- spiritually. Think of Jesus Christ on the cross and say, “Thank you God for your mercy and your gift of healing.   Help me to break open my bible and consume your promises so that I may receive the total healing of my soul.”

And the next time you feel like you are in the midst of a trial be encouraged and know that God is allowing your trial and is holding you through the entire process. He wants to strengthen you.  God has a plan for each of us.  He will strengthen you accordingly to His plan for you.  He knows exactly how much you can stand and exacty when it is time to come in and rescue you.

If you are in the midst of a trial today, wide-eyed and out of breath, I encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus.  Call on the God “of endurance and encouragement” (Rom 15:5).   If you are tierd and tempted to quit- don’t.  Remember that the more harmful a sickness, the greater its cure is praised.  The greater the test, the greater the testimony.  Allow God to use you for His Glory and say, “Go Ahead God, Immunize Me.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV)

6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.