Devotions with Hailey

Hailey, for the most part, is an amazing and resilient child. She is always eager to help with her sister and brother, and for the most part has an incredible attitude. But every now and then, she has a little breakdown, and feels very stressed about the brother and sister that God has given her. During these moments, she feels her life is just too hard and unfair. She had one of these moments the other day. As a parent, I feel bad for her because she does have a point, but at the same time, there is not a lot we can do to change it. Jason and I are very careful not to put too much pressure on her, but she is a member of our family, so of course it affects her. We got her through her feeling sorry for herself hours. The next day when I went to do my devotion time, God provided me with the perfect verses for her and me. I love how He does that! I read: 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. 13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[a] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[b] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[c] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4: 8-18 That night, during her devotion time, I read this passage to her. I explained to her that although, at times, she feels burdened, this experience is making her a better person, and our reaction can bring glory to God. That it may seem like her lifetime is a long time, but in the course of eternity it really isn’t, and the resulting glory will last forever. Instead of focusing on the negative, she can choose to focus her attention on God and his purposes for her. I also explained to her that every person has a story of their life, and for each one there is always someone who has it better, and someone who has it much worse. We discussed this for a little while. I explained to her that it is okay to have times of feeling negative (I certainly have mine), but not to let that become who she is, and she can always turn to this passage and so many others to help her through those times. And being the wonderful child that God made, she accepted this comfort, and woke up the next day as the happy girl, we know and love. Originally posted September 2011