It has literally rained almost every day for at least 5 weeks now. And we’ve been without power almost every day for a good portion of either the day/night since Christmas. Actually, we were without power a couple of times for over 24 hrs straight on back-to-back days. So that makes the hot Brazilian summer nights a lot hotter than usual (no fans) and the nights a lot darker than usual (jungle dark) because of not having lights. But what’s funny (funny ironic- not funny ha ha) is that it really hasn’t bothered us as much as it has in times past. It’s just a part of life here and to get frustrated and complain about it does absolutely no good at all. So why bother, right? Wow, I think I’m finally learning something! lol!
Anyway, our road is crazy-muddy right now because of all of the rain. So I was washing the car real early the other morning before Me and Matthew went to town to get some supplies in the city. I didn’t want to look like a bunch of rednecks who just got back from a truck and tractor pull competition (because of all the mud) so the car HAD to be washed.
As I was washing the car Gabriel and Robert (our 2 youngest kids) were about 75 yards away, at the burn hole, burning trash. If you remember, we don’t have trash pick-up, like back home in the States, so all our household trash needs to be burned: ) Awesome, huh?
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| The burn hole where all our trash is burned: ) |
Anyway, they were burning trash when all of a sudden I heard an explosion and Robert simultaneously began screaming-out in pain! As I looked over toward the burn hole I could see him jumping out of the hole- holding the inside of his leg screaming/crying and then he started writhing around on the ground.
Somehow an empty shaving cream can had made its way into the wrong trash can (we have a recycling can that this type of refuse is suppose to go in so it can be taken to town and another can that is for burnable trash).
The shaving cream can had heated up in the fire and then it exploded- sending pieces of metal and scalding hot shaving cream flying through the air. Some of the hot shaving cream stuck to his leg like molten lava and was severely burning him as it melted through his skin!
I immediately started running, full speed, toward him to help. And as I was on my way to him I could hear him crying out to Gabriel, “I need Dad, I need Dad!” Talk about emotional… man, it cut right to my heart. To hear your child crying out in pain, “I need Dad, I need Dad” was very heart-wrenching. It actually made me run faster than I’ve run in years. Even though I was wearing flip-flops and even though I don’t typically run anywhere (my body’s not built for running, haha)- hearing him crying out for me made me run like I was a sprinter in the Olympics or something. It was crazy.
As I made it to him I scooped him up into my arms and started wiping off all the shaving cream that had fused to his legs with the towel I was washing the car with. After I got it all off his legs I just held him tightly in my arms as he hugged me back, all the while crying these huge crocodile tears. It was very emotional.
MJ was in the house and she came running out too as I was trying to calm him down and asses the severity of his injuries. We carried him back to the front porch and put burn cream on his legs, gave him some pain reliever and just sat there holding him as he was trying to recover from this traumatic event.
We prayed over Robert and thanked God that He didn't allow the explosion to be worse than it actually was. I mean, it could've killed one of the boys or it could've exploded into their eyes or something… so we were very thankful that it wasn't worse. And as I was sitting there trying to process the whole event a few things struck me.
First of all, the fact that he cried out “I need Dad, I need Dad” really surprised me. I would've thought he would've wanted Mom in a situation like that. So it really made me emotional for some reason.
Secondly, the fact that I was able to run REALLY surprised me. lol! I’ve got bad ankles and haven't been able to run in years. But there was so much adrenaline flowing through me that I may’ve broken some kind of land-speed-record I ran so fast. haha!
But neither one of those are the thing that stuck out to me the most. As I was thinking about the event later that day, it reminded me of a scripture in Psalm 34 that says,
"The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry… When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”
Psalm 34:15-19
As believers we have the promise that He not only hears us when we cry out to Him but we also have the promise that He'll respond and deliver us: )
So rather than always trying to 'tough it out’ or 'handle things on our own like big boys/girls’ we need to cry out to our Father instead. Because, as we do, He’s gonna come running.
Love Ya,
Jim
oh, this is such a reminder I've needed. thank you!
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