Sacrifice

It has been two weeks now since we began our new journey. I first have to comment on how mature my kids are. Little Benson, not even two years old yet, know something about sacrifice. He knows he has to sacrifice for his little sister. Today was the first day I actually had to drop him off at a friends house from 7 AM to 1 PM while I took Claire to the hospital. I bent down when we got to Lance Christensen's house and told him once again that I had to take Claire to the hospital to do her dialysis and he was going to play with Lance while I was gone.  I reassured him that I would be back to pick him up after Claire was done. Just about when he's eating lunch. And the look on his his face right then was one of sacrifice. Not that he was being punished by playing with Lance and having a great time at his house all day. But I assure you that given the two options, he would have chosen to stay in the comfort of his home and play with his mommy and baby Claire instead. He knew he had to do this for mommy and Claire. He didn't put up a fuss about it. He didn't even take a step back towards the car. He just said "OK mommy" and walked into Lance's house with a look of seriousness and courage.  What a sweet boy!

And sweet baby Claire-not even one year old yet. She knows a little something about sacrifice too. As one of her nurses has said, "she is so mature in the way she handles being on dialysis."  Although Claire can't talk yet, her face, her mood, and her expressions can say much more than any words. Now that she is familiar with the nurses who work on her, she is tolerant and even excepting of what they have to do to her. One part in particular where this is evident is when they have to change her dressing on her catheter site. She sits there, still as a rock, keeps her head straight forward, and looks at the nurse changing the dressing out of the corner of her eyes. She doesn't move a muscle. It doesn't feel good to have the bandages and tape removed from her skin. But she doesn't whimper, she doesn't wiggle. She lets them do what they need to do. She watches them every step of the way. She trust them. 

And in these small, simple examples, I suppose I can get a glimpse why Heavenly Father allows hard things to happen to good people.  We all have to learn to become like him.  We do that here in mortality through experiences that refine us and teach us a little something about, in this case, sacrifice!