rainy days and mondays always get me down....

....especially when a little one has an ear infection.

We could tell for the past couple of days that Griffin was not feeling himself, especially when he woke up in the mornings. Today was no exception and he was so not himself that I took him to the doctor first thing, even though he really had no other symptoms. He has tubes in his ears and we had a few, great months of "good ears" but it seems our good times have passed. He had an ear infection last month and I am thinking his symptoms are diminished because of the tubes, yet, who knows how long he has been suffering since the diagnosis last month, since this infection is in the same ear.

We take communication for granted don't we? Especially when we are on sensory overload with communication coming at us in every direction. As in the people we interact with on a daily basis, information on the computer, text messaging and voice mails. We are used to hearing everything we need to hear.

But with little ones who haven't learned how to talk yet, we have to rely on other forms of communication to tell if they are not feeling well. Their body language, fever, tears and fussiness, pulling at their ears. There are lots of ways our babies communicate with us even though it is not in verbal form. Because we know our little ones so well, we can usually identify the problem.

This morning the only symptom that Griffin had that he had an ear infection was his constant fussiness from the moment he woke up until it was time to take him to the doctor four hours later (yeah, we had a great morning!). LOL! I guess I started thinking about this while I was at the doctor's office because they were asking me how I could tell Griffin was sick, what were his symptoms, and it struck me when I told them and then added, "you know, you just never know what's going on because he can't tell me. That's why I decided to bring him in, just in case".

So what is the point to all this? This morning got me thinking about how thankful I am that I can hear God speak to me clearly, if I am willing to listen.

Over the past two weeks I have seen God move in amazing ways, in my life and in the life of my friends. We had a FABULOUS women's' conference at my church, Long Hollow Baptist Church a couple of weeks ago. One of the speakers, Margaret Feinberg, spoke on hearing God speak and how it is often, as the bible says, not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but a whisper (I Kings 19). God also uses other forms of communication to speak to us. He gives us His word, His spirit, which prompts and leads us where we should go. He gives us people, His church, life experiences and most of all, peace. Even when it doesn't make sense.

I have some friends that have been faced with tough decisions lately and tough dilemmas. We have been faced with some also. Waiting on God to follow his direction and leading, waiting for his wisdom and discernment. That's when our relationship with Christ gets real. Are we really going to trust Him in our circumstances, even when He is telling us to take a huge leap of faith? Can we trust Him in the smallest of circumstance or do we have to figure things out on our own, in our own time? And what is this peace in the midst of these crazy circumstances that is telling me, 'it's all going to work out'? Do we feel like we have to help Him along? It's almost laughable to even type that last sentence. Yet time and time again, we do just that, feebly "help" him along. God. The king of the universe. Creator. Provider. Beginning and the End.

I am very thankful for a Father who speaks to me clearly, in many different ways, in many different actions. The more I learn to trust Him, the more clearly I hear his voice, even the slightest whisper. I can trust that in my walk with Him, He will make my paths straight.