The Little Things

A tick bit Nathan on Saturday night of our camping trip a few weeks ago. We had been outside most of the day, hiking and playing in the woods. The kids had taken their shirts off to rock on the porch. We noticed it on his right shoulder after dinner, before bed. We were slightly panicked.

Nathan was upset about having his daddy use tweezers to pinch this thing off his back. I was anxious over all of the drama and crying that went on as a result. Greg was calm, cool and collected. He did his very best to remove it, and when he couldn't get it with tweezers, he set out for Wal-Mart or a drugstore to procure a "tick removal kit." He took Mark with him on the first-aid hunt (at my request). Mark slept through the entire experience of being taken in and out of his car seat three times. He slept through his own tick search, diaper change and pajamas being put on. Nathan was completely calm reading Winnie the Pooh with me and thinking about the promised yoo-hoo that would be his reward for bravery.

Wouldn't you know, Greg never found a tick removal kit? And by the time he got home, right before the park gate was locked, that tick walked right off of Nathan's shoulder? Praise God. I prayed that tick right off of my child. He answered. He is concerned about the little things.

Psalm 91 has carried me through the past week and a half, just thinking about how God protects us from the deadly pestilence (in this instance, ticks) and orders his angels to protect us wherever we go. The tick bite saga continues today. We noticed that the bite site had become raised and slightly scabbed. I called the doctor this morning and we went in to have it checked out. Turns out, he probably just picked at the bite and it got a little bit infected - no signs of Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The doctor even said that he didn't want to raise anxiety (whose, mine?!) by running additional tests without more evidence of a real problem. So, we're going to use a prescription antibiotic and I continue praising the Lord, who daily bears my burdens.