COUGH. And then crying, "I swallowed all my money," said Braden, as we drove away from the dollar store after making his long awaited purchase. It took me awhile to realize what exactly had happened. He REALLY had swallowed 19 cents (6 whole coins) of his change all at once. I'm not sure why he put the money in his mouth (and neither is he), but we were both surprised that it ALL accidentally slipped down his throat so easily.
With all that being said, we had a dr. visit and x-ray later that day, with news that this should all "pass" in a few days, and I that I had the "fun" job of searching for the coins! A follow up appointment was also scheduled in a couple days to make sure all was okay in case they did not pass as expected. We left that appointment feeling fairly confident that this would all be over with quite soon.
I told several people about this "money eating" ordeal, sorta because it was slightly amusing and quite unbelievable, but I also wanted them to be praying for us. Of course we were praying with Braden too, as we wanted him to know that we can bring all things before GOD in prayer.
A couple days came and went. No coins.
I pushed the follow up appointment back a couple days to give it more time.
A couple more days passed, still no coins. Not even one.
The follow up appointment day finally arrived....no coins.
Another x-ray confirmed that the coins were still in his stomach, and it didn't seem hopeful that they would be coming out anytime soon. In fact, if they did not pass in the next couple weeks, then he would have to have an endoscopy at Dornbecker's Hospital in Portland. No fun....he would have to be sedated and all!
Although I was still not overly concerned, I did begin to think that they may not pass. I was still praying, as were many others, but it just seemed to be taking too long. I was also concerned about what Braden would think if God didn't "come through" since we had prayed for this with him. Would he begin to wonder if he could trust God? Would he think that God doesn't answer our prayers?
All of this got me thinking about other things in life. So many times I come before the Lord with a request. I often expect an immediate answer. I want things to go MY WAY RIGHT AWAY! Days pass, weeks pass, months may even pass and I may lose hope, or simply just stop praying about the issues, sometimes assuming that nothing will change. It's not that I don't believe that God CAN answer, it's just that the answer doesn't come soon enough for me, so I just lose heart. Or I try and forget. Or I assume that God may choose not to answer this time.
This story has a happy ending though! After 8 days, which is much longer than myself (and even many of the drs.) thought it would take, the coins passed. I, of course, was still hoping and praying they would, but I really was SURPRISED when I hit the "JACKPOT" one coin at a time, each time rejoicing as I did. What a relief, and how thankful we were to put this all behind us, and to avoid the endoscopy. Immediately Sheldon grabbed Braden and we thanked the Lord for his faithfulness.
Compared to many things in life, this is a VERY small ordeal, and 8 days of waiting is quite short (unless you're the one "searching" through stool everyday). But GOD used this little ordeal in our lives to teach me persistence. To remind me to keep on praying. To not lose heart. That he DOES indeed come through in HIS time, and HIS way!
SO keep on praying. Do not lose heart. God does hear our prayers and He does answer.
