Sometimes Throwing Up IS an Answer to Prayer!

“Oh, no!  I feel like I’m about to throw up!”

 

Familiar words.  My oldest daughter hates to throw up.  (Who really likes it, though? Oh, that’s right, ME, well, rather, the YOUNG me.  A favorite pastime of mine as a kid was to throw up any “gross” food my mom made.  “Sure, Mom, if I HAVE to eat this zucchini lasagna, I will.  But I won’t be responsible for what happens next!”)

 

As I was saying, my daughter despises the feeling of being queasy, of her jaw clenching, and her stomach tightening — the prelude to vomiting.  When she experiences these sensations, her first response is to pray — to ask God to take the feelings away.  Sometimes her bodily response is actually due to nervousness, and fear of the unknown.  In such circumstances, I tell her to bring her feelings to Jesus.  This time she was terrified of going to the dentist for her first teeth cleaning and she wanted to throw up from nervousness and unease. 

 

When this happens, I have my daughter close her eyes and ask Jesus to enter her imagination so she can see Him and interact with him there.  This prayer practice, Imaginative Prayer, is a fantastic way to connect the mind and the heart.  To experience Jesus on an emotional level, not just an intellectual level.

 

“Tell Jesus,” I remind her, “how you’re feeling right now.  Tell him what you’re afraid of and why.”  I want my kids to build the habit of bringing EVERYTHING to Jesus — every fear, every desire, every joy, every disappointment, etc.  I want them to anticipate what Jesus has for them in that moment, to expect Jesus to respond to their emotional selves.  I want them to experience Jesus’ tender care in their specific experiences.  (When my kids were younger, I’d help them put language to their feelings and help them get clarity on what they were experiencing internally.) 

 

After my daughter expresses herself to Jesus, I then say, “Ask Jesus where he will be when you’re getting your teeth cleaned.”  With her eyes still closed, she starts giggling. 

 

“What do you see? What’s happening?” 

 

She laughs.  “Jesus is sitting next to me in a dental chair, winking at me, while an angel cleans His teeth, too!” 

 

“How does that make you feel?  Seeing Jesus getting his teeth done just like you?” I ask. 

 

“Much better.  I’m not alone — and Jesus is funny,” she says, still laughing at what she sees.

 

She’s experiencing the reality, through her imagination, that Jesus is literally with her in ALL things and never leaves her alone.  Jesus has given her a picture to hold on to, a story to interact with as she visits the dentist.  As a result, she had no tears, no whining, no fear about going into her appointment.  And no desire to throw up. 

 

But sometimes God doesn’t take the feelings away.  The other day my daughter prayed that she wouldn’t throw up, that God would take away the nausea.  But then she vomited — twice.  It was a perfect opportunity (after she felt better) to talk about how God answers prayers in the way that is for our good, for what’s best for us.  We don’t always know what’s good for us, but God always does.  In this case, she had a stomach bug. 

 

“See?” I said.  “Vomiting is actually your body’s way of protecting you from something it perceives as harmful.  God designed your body to throw up as a way to get out all those nasty toxins — or to alert us to any other problems you might be having that we don’t know about.  Isn’t that cool?”  She was less than enthusiastic at that moment, obviously preferring not to have to go through such a purge.

 

However, it was a timely reminder to me, that although I can bring all my wants and desires to God, and that He will listen graciously, He won’t always respond the way I think I want.  But he’ll answer for my good.  Always.  When our desires don’t align with what God has decided for us, we have an opportunity to exercise our faith, to trust that God is good, generous, and kind even when we can’t “see” it in the moment.  Just as throwing up can be the necessary, loving answer to my daughter’s prayer, so, too, unpleasant experiences can be the loving, necessary answers to prayer for our growth and well-being. 

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