It’s a funny thing—the events you remember from childhood. Oftentimes, the memories are sparked by a word, an event, or a smell. This time, the word is allergies.
For some, the cause of their allergies is apparent. In my family, we always know if Dad has been sneaking chocolate because he starts sneezing. Someone is wearing perfume or burning a scented candle when my mom begins to sneeze. But as a young child, it wasn’t so clear for me. Give me a lollipop, I sneeze. Take me to the park, my eyes tear up and it looks like I’m crying. Let me play in the grass... big no-no. I’d be itchy all over for hours and hours. Grandma stops by?... Cardiac arrest (OK, maybe not that bad). It seemed as though I was essentially allergic to life.
We sat in the doctor’s office, and I remember thinking, Why are we here? I feel fine. The doctor told me that it was for my own good, and that although it might hurt a little, eventually I would be alright. She then scrubbed my arms and back with rubbing alcohol and began to press these plastic matrices with about sixteen sharp-toothed discs covered in allergens against my skin with enough force to pierce the skin and significantly expose me to the various substances. Multiply this by ten or so stamps, and I was one itchy little kid with tears in my eyes but a determined “this is for science” look on my face.
I look back on that event now in thanks—even though it was a rough ordeal to bear. In fact, those few hours of pain made it more possible to live a life free from the tyranny of ragweed, pollen, and crab grass. By learning what my weaknesses were, I was able to avoid certain situations and live a more productive, healthy life.
In thinking about this story, I’m reminded about how, through discomfort, I have learned which areas in my life and my walk with Christ I am more prone to suffer big attacks. I truly believe that God refines us and allows us to experience small doses of trial for our sake, but also for the sake of His glory. One of many scriptures that come to mind is this:
Zechariah 13:9
And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’
After being hospitalized with asthma attacks on Halloween night three years in a row, I learned not to run around the neighborhood barefoot. Returning home swollen and red taught me to keep my shirt on while doing somersaults down grassy hills. Seeing how my selfishness had hurt another person as our relationship ended has pruned me. Watching hidden sin rear its ugly head as it is unearthed in the most inopportune fashion has refined me.
What are your allergens? What temptations and situations are more likely to bring about a major, debilitating attack on your heart? Where has God painfully but lovingly shown you your weaknesses and called you back to Himself? I challenge you to meditate on these things, and to pray that God would refine your heart for His glory so that you may live a life freed in part from the major allergy attacks that weigh us down so often. As you think of these things, be sure to confess them to Him, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Liam Morris is a skinny Irish guy, exiled to Western Massachusetts, who specializes in business development and web/social media marketing. He plays guitar (piano occasionally) and is "lead bad dancer" for the worship team at MercyHouse, a growing church on the campus of UMass Amherst.
