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| How far we've come... the Lord will not leave us now. |
Dear Edison,
You had a rug pulled out from under you. Miss M is leaving the clinic and won’t be your therapist anymore. Next week is your last session with her.
As she told you this news, you held your tears in like a champ, but we could see the anxiety in your face. At home there are tears when we talk about a thank you card and a gift. Goodbyes are hard for you. Your roots run deep, and though you don’t always show your love by doing your therapy homework, your affection for friend Miss M is still there. Aside from that, you're not only saying goodbye to Miss M, but must now go to a new therapist—someone you haven’t met yet. That’s hard, too.
Mommy has shed a few tears as well, because I know this is hard for you. It’s an unexpected change for me, too. You and I are creatures of habit. That said, we don’t always have the option of keeping life the same. So how are we going to find hope to keep going during times of change?
Let’s start by remembering how Miss M even came into our lives in the first place.
About two years ago this month, our neighbor Bao announced that their family was moving. This was very unexpected news, and it hit quickly. Their house was on the market within a month, and eleven people showed up to tour it within two days of the "For Sale" sign going up. “Who is going to buy the house?” we wondered. “Will they have children?” you asked.
A young couple moved in. It was the height of COVID panic, but they came over to shake hands and give us a plate full of the best home-baked cookies we’ve ever eaten. Before we knew it, these new neighbors were in our home at our table to eat pizza for dinner. That’s when Miss A, who just happened to be a pediatric occupational therapist, noticed you didn’t eat pizza with sauce on it. “Have you ever heard of food aversion therapy?” she asked. No, we hadn’t—but this piece of information just happened to come at a time when you had finally grown bored of your very limited diet. Over the next three months we learned much more about food therapy. Miss A just happened to work at a clinic that did food therapy for kids—a clinic that didn’t require the face masks that made you so nervous. We decided to try it. Miss A did your paperwork, but she didn’t want to be your therapist—she wanted to be your neighbor. But it just happened that her friend Miss M also worked at the clinic and had openings for new patients.
We had never met Miss M before your first session, but it didn’t take long for her to become a trusted friend. After that first session, you were content for mom to run errands while you explored foods we never thought you would ever eat, let alone taste. While you were warming up for therapy with exercises, Miss M found out other important things about your eyes and brain, challenges we didn’t know you faced, and helped you grow stronger in other ways. You didn’t always like your homework (and you still hate pizza with sauce), but you’ve made a lot of good progress in your eating and moving. Along the way, Miss M encouraged you and helped you work through anxiety, bad attitudes, and the winter blues, and helped us find new ways to help you at home. Her work in your life has been a very good gift to this family.
Who sent us Miss M? God did. You know this. He causes people to move to new places (Isaiah 46:9b-11), directs the decisions of the heart (Proverbs 21:1), and writes our days (Psalm 139:16). God brought Miss M to our lives at just the right time when you were ready for her help. And while Miss M’s job and life are changing now, God isn’t.
The God who knew your needs and directs moves and jobs is still God now. We are clearly told that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). God Himself declares, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). He knows our hearts and listens to our prayers (Psalm 34:15; Romans 8:26-27). He knows you have not yet learned to eat all the good food He has made, and He knows you need more help. He is even now working all things together for good (Romans 8:28), to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
So why is Miss M leaving?
We don’t know all the reasons why. Could the Lord change her heart to stay? Yes. But He hasn’t, and He might not. He is directing her steps elsewhere (Proverbs 16:9), and He is giving us something, someone else instead. Just as He sent Miss M into our lives, He is sending someone new into your life. As the Lord has provided, He is still providing. God is still God.
That is the hope we must hold to in every change and in this one: God is God. He brings good things and people into our lives, but ultimately our hope must be rooted in Him—the constant, unchanging God—not in His good but finite gifts. We will always be thankful for Miss M, but our hope must finally rest in the God who sent her, not in Miss M herself. She can and did help you, but it is the Lord who must ultimately work in your heart and change your tongue.
We haven’t met your new therapist yet, but we will soon. She will probably have games, encouragement, and help to offer. Our final hope, however, won't be in her but in the God who sends her our way. No matter who we see or where we go, we can be hopeful because the Lord at work in our lives. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
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