After a day trying to recover from the bug that took hold of me, today began much earlier than planned with the sound of Susan having a seizure — actually for me it was the sound of my wife trying to keep our daughter safe as she had her seizure.  Once she was through it and we were all back asleep it seemed like no time at all until the alarm went off meaning I needed to get up for work.  Fortunately the snow they keep talking about hadn’t arrived overnight so I could focus on doing the inside cleaning to get the building ready for the school day and not have to worry about the sidewalks.  With Susan having a tough night, we decided I would go in and get the cleaning done and then come home to be with Susan while MJ went in to work.  As I finished the cleaning and headed home I could tell I was losing energy fast and wasn’t completely recovered from the weekend illness.  As MJ and I traded places, Susan was still sleeping off her seizure so I went back to bed and fell asleep quickly.  In the middle of a dream that was not turning out to be pleasant, I was awakened by the sounds of Susan having another seizure.  

As I held her and tried to comfort her through the grip of something she has no control over, I thought about the things we allow to seize our hearts and minds that we do have the ability to say no to.  I thought about Paul’s instruction to “throw off the sin that so easily entangles us” as we seek to walk with Christ every day.  I thought about the early church being seized with fear after Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.  I can’t count the number of times that I know fear has seized me to the extent that I did things I shouldn’t have or didn’t do things I should have.  For Susan, the longer her seizures last, the harder it is for her to break free of its grip.  The same seems to be true of the things that find a way to control our thoughts and actions.  The longer they stay in control, the harder it is for us to break free and live as we ought.  God wants our life to be controlled not by harmful, sinful, or distracting things, but by the presence of His Spirit within us.  As a parent, physical seizures are difficult to watch someone go through but we’ve learned to handle it and deal with it the best we can.  We comfort, we protect, we try to find ways to help her brain wiring reconnect in a working manner.  

I pray that you and I always seek to help those who live a life seized by something that should not have control of them.  May we be prepared to comfort, protect, and help them find ways to return control back over to God.