A Scary Moment Turned Wonderful

Lunch preparations started out like any other day. 4 colorful plates laid out with a somewhat balanced meal. Everything cut into small pieces for little mouths that can be too eager to swallow without chewing properly. Everyone was sitting in place with bibs on to catch any misguided or unwanted food. And then it happened. Sydney took a bite of food and began to cough. And then her cough stopped along with her ability to take in air. Panic gripped me in that moment as I flew across the table and started doing the children's Heimlich maneuver on her. Thrust...What if I'm not doing this right? Thrust...What if I can't dislodge it? Thrust...Do I call 911 or do I keep trying so that no time is lost? Thrust...What if I lose her? Thrust...God help me. Thrust...and then she coughed out the piece of food and began to breathe.

I picked her up and held her in my arms as the tears started to stream down my face. Sydney asked me, "Mommy, why are you crying?" I tried to explain to her how serious it is to choke on food and that I could have lost her. Her response to me was astonishing and was something that I was not prepared to hear. She said, "Mommy, it would be ok if I died because I would be with God in heaven forever." Those words took the air right out of me. If I wasn't humbled by what could have just happened, I was definitely humbled now. She was comprehending all the things that Joshua and I had been teaching her and now she was using it to comfort me. What started out as the most tragic experience I have had with one of my sprouts so far, ended with being amazed at God working in the heart of my child.