The kiddos have been battling either allergies, or the crud, seemingly since school began in the fall. Really, we all have, despite our best efforts to essential-oil ourselves up, eat right, drink raw apple cider wonder potions, or, most of all, keep our distance and try not to share germs. In the midst of it, they, at least, have done what kids do: wipe their noses on their sleeves and power through, maintaining a pretty decent mood.

The last couple of weeks of unseasonably warm and spring-like weather have been especially bad. With allergy counts off the charts, we’ve all been hit hard. Brody, especially, had been running pretty thick and gross, so Dr. Mimmie decided his allergies may have taken a turn toward infection. I packed him up and headed for the doctor, hope running high for a quick fix.

The diagnosis?

“It’s seasonal allergies. He has no infection. It should get better with this cold weather.”

And you know what?

I’m glad of that. I don’t like any of us to have to be on medicine when we don’t have to. But sometimes we’re are just wanting to get a round of antibiotics and knock out what ails us, am I right? We get tired of powering through. We get tired of seeing our loved ones suffer, or suffering ourselves.

We just get dad-blame tired of dealing for what seems a sweet forever.

But sometimes there is no quick fix, and the way is hard. The road is full of twists and turns that preclude us from seeing any end in sight, and we feel sick with the weight of it all. Then, just like that, we turn into a wide open space. We can breathe, deep and full, and we realize with no small amount of surprise, that we’re stronger…we are well.

Sometimes the hard way is the best medicine, because it changes us.

The Great Doctor in life knows this, and that’s why He prescribes it from time to time. The lovely thing is that, when He does, He makes house calls and never leaves our side. We may end up with a little snot on our sleeve, but we’ll never be alone.

Power through, my friends. We’ve got this, and He’s got us.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. ~ Romans 5:3-5 TLB