Doctors are saying this is a record year in the U.S. for seasonal illnesses like RSV and flu, and many of us are feeling it. After several years of rarely getting sick, my family has faced an onslaught of illness this year, including a bout of croup that landed our baby in the ICU. When we had put that ordeal behind us and were eager for our first Sunday morning back at church, my heart sank when my oldest woke up sick—again. How can it be?!
Though I dread cold and flu season every year, I’m learning how to keep a better perspective about it. Here are a few helpful things God has taught me.
Trials are not my enemies; they are my friends, helping me on my journey to greater spiritual maturity. Facing hardship with a good attitude is necessary if I am going to learn the kind of perseverance that God rewards. I can’t learn it when life is always comfortable and easy.
2. Sickness is a time to make memories with our kids.
They might not be the kind of memories we’d prefer to make, but there’s something special about the sick days, too—something that sticks in a child’s memory forever.
Can you still remember the way your mom took care of you when you were sick? The coolness of her hand on your forehead burning with fever, the special drinks she brought you to sip on, the shows you got to watch on the couch, the comfort of her hand on your back? Those may be the times you felt her love most tangibly.
Times of sickness fill our kids’ and grandkids’ memory banks with thoughts of our tender, nurturing care—physical reminders of God’s love for them.
3. Sickness is a time to learn humility.
We tend to associate sickness with weakness, and it’s hard to admit defeat. I took a lot of pride in how healthy my kids were in previous years, attributing their wellness to my own motherly merits (my husband calls me the Director of Health and Human Services in our household). While healthy habits and remedies can certainly help our bodies handle sickness more easily, a season of illness has forced me to recognize that the health we enjoy is ultimately a gift from God, not a reason for self-centered pride.
Sickness humbles us: we see that we’re vulnerable like everyone else, and we acknowledge that the world will continue to revolve without us when we are down for the count.
4. Sickness is a time to recognize our Creator’s wisdom in designing our bodies.
It’s tempting to duck and hide when illness is going around, but I recently heard a pediatrician explain that never getting sick is not the goal. Getting sick is actually the best way to build a child’s immune system—our Creator designed our bodies to encounter and fend off illness and learn from that immune response so we can fight the next one that comes along.
While it’s wise to take precautions when necessary, God wants us to live in community with others, not in a lonely bubble. Keeping that perspective helps me not to feel so defeated when sickness descends on our house—it’s just another chance for my kids’ immune systems to get some practice and become stronger.
5. Sickness is a time to lean on the ultimate Healer.
When my kids are sick, I can’t get them off my mind, even when they’re asleep. All my physical and mental energy goes toward their comfort and well-being. How much more, then, does God care for us and our families in our times of illness? He never stops watching over us with his loving care. He reminds us in Isaiah, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:15-16a).
As we raid our medicine cabinets to heal our families, let’s not forget to turn to the Great Physician, who is ultimately the one who heals.
6. Sickness is a time to be thankful.
When your household is facing sickness, it can feel defeating. But it’s an opportunity to practice giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thes. 5:18). We have much to be thankful for: remedies, warm homes to rest in, the care and concern of loved ones, modern medicine when we need it, and the degree of health we enjoy under normal circumstances, just to name a few. Trading grumbling for gratitude exercises our spiritual muscles and helps us find joy in the trials.