Here's the Rest of the Story...

“I don’t wanna die today! I don’t wanna die today!” Odd words coming from my 7 year old son. I don’t know if he had big plans for the day or what, but one thing is for sure, he was NOT prepared to meet his maker that Wednesday. My son had disobeyed me…not the first time, nor the last. Like his momma, he’s strong-willed and learns lessons the hard way. He had gone outside barefoot and cut his foot. He bled profusely. I couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. He later confessed his fear was that he was afraid he was going to bleed out. When I couldn't get the bleeding to stop, I threw him into the truck and drove him to the fire department. I have a feeling we will be getting to know these guys well over the next few years. Once there, Pearce began screaming, “I want my daddy! I want my daddy!” He has been a daddy’s boy, a man-baby since he was born. When at 18 months your happy place is Home Depot and Lowe’s and when you have a mustache by the tender age of two, you know he’s got strong testosterone coursing through his veins. After the firemen wrapped his foot twice due to the volume of blood, I drove him to the ER. Patrick met us there. Once we were back in the ER, Patrick and I were sitting on his bed facing Pearce when he said his foot was bleeding. Sure enough, there was a puddle on the bed that had poured onto the floor. Patrick turns three different colors, and I told him I’ll try not to step on him on the way out to get a nurse. When it was finally time to get stitches, Patrick was trying to get Pearce to not look at what was going on, to not look at the tools of the trade. Pearce looked at him with terror in his eyes and cried, “I’ve already seen the long things with pointy ends!” That’s when Pearce cried were, “I wanna go home NOW! I wanna go home NOW!”


Rebellion. Pride. Disobedience. Disrespect. THEY ARE HEART issues. The mind and HEART of this woman struggles with pride and rebellion to this day.

Yes, I want to do things my way, like Pearce wanting to run barefoot in the yard, but God says, “Submit.” Because of my pride, I really hate that word. Submitting my will to His is a must.

Yes, I want to handle things on my own, but God says, “Humility.” The world teaches we should be self-sufficient and self-reliant. That’s not Scriptural.

Proverbs 29:1, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed – without remedy.”

Here’s the thing. Had Pearce played outside before without shoes? Absolutely. Had he gotten caught before without being hurt? Sure he had. He’s seven. But when he got caught and cut, he was sooooo surprised. This was not what he was bargaining for. Aren’t we the same way? We over-eat, and then act all surprised when we are told we have high blood pressure or heart disease. We spend more than we make, and then we’re surprised when we get a collection notice. We fail to invest in our spouse or family, and then we’re surprised when they walk out the door. Pick your poison, sistas. Name your heart issue.

Immediately, my son thought of the worst-case scenario, and for him, it was death. For some of you, it could be death. For some, it will be losing your family. The loss is a consequence of the sin – pride, rebellion, disobedience. What is ironic to me is that too often people want to blame God for the consequence of a choice that God had no part in. Seriously? Take ownership of your failure, your issue.

Then my son called out for his father. His momma was already with him. Pearce was rallying the troops. Pearce wanted his daddy. He wanted to climb into his daddy’s lap, feel his daddy’s big, strong arms around him. He wanted his daddy to protect him from what was going to come next. God, if you’ll just get me out of this scrape I’m in right now… God, please help me! Please don’t take ______!

And while Patrick didn’t want to see Pearce in pain or hear him in pain when they put shots near the wound, Patrick knew Pearce needed to go through it to get better. Did Pearce’s daddy leave? Well, once when he saw a lot of Pearce’s blood on the bed and floor, but other than that Patrick didn’t leave Pearce. Our heavenly Father is with us regardless. He knows the consequences and the pain that will be associated. He also knows that we must endure the consequences of our actions, so hopefully, we will get better. Hopefully, we learn our lesson and don’t repeat the behavior.

And then Pearce’s daddy carried him out of the hospital, took him home and loved on him.

I don’t always want to open my Bible and crawl up in my Father’s lap. I don’t always want to listen to what He wants to tell me, but I am so thankful that He’s still there when I return from my rebellion, when I humble myself. I’m so thankful I can cry out, “Abba, Father!” or “I want my daddy” and He’s there. I’m so thankful that He will never leave me or forsake me.

Here’s the last point to this story. If I continue to be stiff-necked, when I become broken without remedy, it doesn’t just affect me. It affects my children. It affects my spouse, my marriage. It affects those around me. Pearce wasn’t able to go swimming after getting stitches which meant Erin couldn’t go. Pearce has been hopping around on one foot or is carried…who do you think is carrying him? And the consequences don’t stop in one day. We are on day eleven of this consequence, and while his stitches may have just come out, he will be visiting the doctor tomorrow to see what’s next as his wound has reopened. Check your heart, peeps! Check your heart.