Day 17 :: Resist or Yield?

One of the challenges that Mason faces with having Down Syndrome is low muscle tone.  For the past year he’s been getting physical therapy in order to help him be able to sit, roll over, crawl, walk, etc.  Most children develop these skills naturally, they don’t have to be taught.  But for Mason, he needs to be shown how to get out of a sitting position, that his feet are a part of his body and he needs to use them in order to get around, and that he can move a lot faster by doing it on his hands and knees.

Our physical therapist is wonderful and Mason really enjoys her, which is a blessing.  Most days he does well and really tries to improve his skills.  He gets tired during his one hour sessions because he is working those muscles and learning to do things that, for him, are pretty scary.  It’s tough.

Yesterday, though, he wasn’t having any of it.  He didn’t want the therapist to touch him, manipulate him, or be near him.

As he was swatting his arms at her to get away and grunting in displeasure, a chord struck in my heart.

Don’t I do the same thing when life is hard?  I might not literally swing my arms at someone but in my spirit I’m resisting and fighting.

Resisting when I grumble and complain.

Resisting when I get so fed up with what’s hard in my day that I raise my voice at my kids and throw sarcastic barbs at my husband.

Resisting when I escape to things like social media, TV, or a good book, instead of seeking God in prayer and pouring out my heart to Him.

Mason doesn’t realize that the hardness of physical therapy is going to cause him to grow and develop and be able to get around like other kids.  It’s going to take some pain, but eventually he will thrive.  He just needs to yield himself to his therapist.

Life might be hard, the days long, but if I but yield myself, my spirit, to what God is doing I can thrive, seeing that what He is doing is for good, for growth, for His glory.

Are you resisting today or are you yielding?

For a list of all posts in this series go here