This is my spunky little girl, Rachel. She is strong-willed and can be quite a stubborn thing, but then again, she can be quite a cutie, too, when she wants to be. My story is about her.
About 5 months ago, my little girl got a runny nose. It was clear and not bad. I didn't think too much about it. After several weeks it was no longer clear, but a dark tan, and her upper lip and outer nose had become red and irritated from the constant drip. You can see this a bit here in this photo. In addition, her little nose on the right side was so red and irritated on the inside. It even looked almost bloody and if it got bumped she would usually get a bloody nose and have a screaming fit. I also noticed that no matter how much we brushed her teeth, she had this nasty, rank breath.
So, I figured that she must have some wicked sinus infection and took her to see our family doctor. He agreed and prescribed an antibiotic. Rachel took it for 10 days and seemed all better. But within a day or two after the medicine was gone, the nasty nose started to come back. It wasn't long before it was just as bad as it was before. By this time, we were in the midst of the holiday season with Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas, so I didn't get her back into the doctor right away. I guess, in my mind, I kept thinking this would clear up.
A couple weeks before Christmas I took Rachel back to see the doctor. He deduced that since the previous round of antibiotics seemed to clear things up, she probably just needed to be on them longer. So, he prescribed 3 weeks worth which we diligently administered. Rachel improved, but never got 100% better and as soon as she was done with the antibiotics, everything came right back.
Now, I was getting a bit more concerned. This had gone on for a very long time. I decided to take her to see an ear-nose-throat specialist. The day before her appointment, I was at my bible study with my good friends. I asked if we could pray for Rachel and her upcoming appointment. My friend, Kim, led the prayer and specifically prayed for God to give this doctor wisdom to know how to help Rachel.
So, we go to this new doctor, filling out all the necessary paperwork. I must have been asked 3 times if Rachel had had a CT scan done on her nose. I told them no, but concerned with what we were in for in trying to figure out this problem. The doctor came into the examining room, took one look at Rachel and clarified that all of her problems appeared to be just on the right side and said, "I think she probably has something up there." I was surprised at this thought, but she went on to explain that from her experience, when symptoms like this are just on one side, something is in the nose. She shined her light up there and said, "Yep, I am pretty sure there is something up there." She grabbed a long skinny pair of tweezers and immediately pulled out this huge, nasty, matted wad of something out of Rachel's nose. My jaw must have hit the floor. She placed it in her gloved hand to show me. It was about an inch and a half long and a half inch wide. She asked me if I recognized it. It looked like the polyester batting that I use to make stuffed creatures and dolls. I had been in the middle of sewing several stuffed projects about the time that Rachel's symptoms began. I was shocked! The doctor said she should clear right up now that that was out. I could not believe how quick and easy that was.
Later, after I had shared this with friends, my friend Chris said, "I guess our prayers were answered." That is when it hit me. That is exactly what happened. We prayed for the doctor to have wisdom and that is exactly what happened. God had directed us to the right doctor who had just the right experiences to know what was wrong and to take care of it easily. The doctor had the wisdom she needed. What a great God we serve!
Later, I asked Rachel if she remembered putting that stuffing up her nose. She simply nodded "yes." [Sigh] Unfortunately she is not a very good communicator and I never dreamed of asking her if she had stuffed something up her nose. She now appears to be on the mend. I can only imagine how much better she must feel!
So, that's my story about a little girl and a very big God who tenderly cares.
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