Transitioning Out of a Rut

Based on John 5, the healing at the pool:

The man had been stuck in a rut for a very long time. He had become used to his very sad condition. Jesus walked up to him and asked him the question no one had asked. “Do you want to get well?” It seems obvious, but actually we don’t tend to think that way.

The transition from “unwell” to “well” is an interesting one. There are two aspects to this: the physical one and the spiritual one. Physically of course, there are situations that cannot be changed, even with a lot of faith and effort. There are others, however, that can be changed. Sometimes we let ourselves go physically, and we neglect our physical needs.

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I’m a Big Kid, No Wait, I’m a Baby Syndrome

Don’t let the title fool you: this isn’t exactly a parenting post.

Two weeks ago, we got rid of pacifiers for the last time at our house. (Sniff sniff…I can’t believe we’re almost through the baby stage forever—it's killing me.) The first night went swimmingly—not a single cry or complaint, just an angelic “Night-night, Mommy!”—all thanks to Sawyer’s initial thrill at getting to sleep with a toy for the first time. She gave me her pacifiers, I gave her a giant stuffed Olaf to sleep with. That’s our rule, by the way: No toys or stuffed animals in the bed until you get rid of pacifiers. This simple policy has given us some leverage in convincing our little pacifier addicts to surrender their passies. But back to our story.

That first morning, two-year-old Sawyer woke up all smiles and bragging rights: “Me a big girl now! Me give up my passies!” The first nap also went beautifully—not a single cry. So for about 23 hours, we were like, “Whoopee! We got off so easy! What an angelic child! Lucky us!”

We spoke too soon.

The second night, I put my daughter in her bed and tried to tuck her in. She did not lie down.

Instead she handed me Olaf and said, “Here, Mommy, take Olaf. Me want my passies back.” When I attempted to explain in two-year-old terms that the pacifiers had a no-exchange, no-return policy, her little face melted. There was a long pause, the calm before the storm. And then the wailing started… and nine days of sleepless misery began. (To add to our joy, my husband’s back went out the same day, leaving him in excruciating, debilitating pain. Isn’t that just the way of it?!)