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Helplessness blows

Helplessness is one of my most hated feelings.  

We all want to feel like we have the power to effect the things around us, right?  One of the things I hate the most is when I know there is nothing I can do about a situation I am in.

My wife Courtney and I had to deal with feelings of helplessness from January 2012 to September of 2012 This was the time we were preparing for and welcoming Seth, our youngest son. Seth's pregnancy was extremely difficult.  At seven weeks we went to the emergency room, thinking Courtney was having a miscarriage.  Then, beginning in the second trimester, we had to go to specialists two to three times a week because of abnormalities during the pregnancy.  He ended up being delivered early, and by the grace of God was healthy.  Then, when Seth was almost 2 months old he contracted RSV which made it difficult for him to breathe.    He had to spend several days in the Pediatric ICU to recover.  These were very trying times for us.  It felt like each time things started to improve we were hit with yet another trial.  It was all the more frustrating because we had no power to help.  We could only trust experts, pray, and wait.

Seth in the ICU

 It was during this time, I felt I could really sympathize with David when he wrote Psalm 69:20
"Scorn had broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none."

Each time a new issue would come up (especially toward the end of the pregnancy and with the RSV) I could remember throwing my hands up and yelling to God, "really?"  I was pissed.  It felt I couldn't ever get ahead of my feelings.  I would cry because I could do nothing.  Each problem highlighted that in the grand scheme, I had no power.  I couldn't heal my son.  I couldn't promise my wife that everything would be ok.

I could only trust experts, pray, and wait.

This brings me to today's question.  What should we do when we feel helpless? 

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. Romans 8:26-27

I won't say that holding Seth's hand in the ICU and praying to God helped me feel any better, but I do believe there was someone who was hurting just as much as Courtney and I were.  God.  I could find comfort knowing that I wasn't alone in my pain.  We have a God who actively cares for us.  
He is with us when we feel hopeless.
He is with us when our child is sick.
He is with us when we loose our jobs.
He is with us when the car breaks down.
He is with us when the IRS sends us back taxes bill.
He is with us when we fail horribly.
He is with us when we let others down.
He is with us when there is more month than money.
He is with us.

God, help me remember when things are really bad, I am not alone.


Good luck out there,
D. A. Acevedo

Twitter: @iamthebbqking

P.S. Here is a happy baby picture.
Nom Nom Nom Snow Cone!

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