What’s In Your Bag?

You know it is going to be an interesting day when God tells you to put your anointing oil in your diaper bag.  Okay, so I can hear some of you now saying, “Umm wait… what does she mean ‘God tells you?’”  So, a few  years ago… 8 to be exact… I spent my summer praying and reading the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. It talked about how ordinary believers hear the voice of God in their daily lives and haven’t learned to recognize it. The book clarifies the idea that the more you LISTEN for His voice and spend time with Jesus the more you will recognize Him when He is speaking. How do you know what He sounds like? Well, start by reading His word. After all… those are His words.

So, the more time I spend with Jesus in His word, the more I will hear Him in my day-to-day. This makes sense. You are all nodding ‘yes.’ Right?

Okay… so, if you were good with the “God tells you to…” I can understand that some of ya’ might have gotten hung up on the “put your anointing oil in your diaper bag” part.

A few years ago, my mom was prompted by the Lord to started infusing lavender from her own garden into olive oil making anointing oil to use in their church services. If you are not familiar with the Biblical passages that support praying with oil, here are a few to give you some framework.

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Mark 6:13 And they (the disciples) cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

So, last weekend my mom made some out of this year’s lavender growth. She gave me a fresh bottle and it smells wonderful! I was explaining to my littles (3 &2) about the Holy Spirit and Jesus healing us and using oil to pray…. Yadda yadda… If I sound like a wacko to you, oh well. I can’t do much to explain that to you now, so keep reading if you’d like. I promise. I’m Biblically grounded and the rest of the story is pretty awesome.

I knew you would keep going. Okay, back to the beginning. You know your day is going to be interesting when God tells you to put your anointing oil in your diaper bag. Yesterday morning, the kids and I were prepping to head to Enid for a day of restocking on a few essentials. We would make a quick stop to our favorite chick-fil-a and a fast trip through Wal-Mart. I was going through my mental diaper bag check list – extra pants, check, wipes, drinks, hand sanitizer, shirts, band-aids, and then I heard the Lord say… “Put the anointing oil in your bag.”

I honestly laughed out loud in my kitchen and thought to myself, “Well, you never know who you’re going to need to pray for,” dropping it into the side pocket.

Car packed. Kids buckled. Out the door. Overall, the trip to Enid was pretty uneventful. Well, as uneventful as any trip with two littles can be… At this point, I count minor tantrums and small screaming fits average for our bunch. But… no one fell into a public toilet and no one broke something that wasn’t ours… so all-in-all… a pretty ordinary shopping trip.

I did pick up cashew butter while I was at Wal-mart. $6.98 seemed a little high, but my sweet Bug is allergic to peanuts, and my little Pie is in need of some extra protein in his diet. So, when we got home and he said he was hungry, I was excited to have him try it. I put a teaspoon of the spread on a piece of bread and split it three ways. My daughter got a small corner (she has been allergy tested and I know she’s not allergic to cashews,) I got a small piece, and the last little piece went to my Pie.

He gobbled down his ¼ tsp of cashew butter and bread and said, “That’s my favorite! Can I have some more?” I turned around to make him some more and picked up the phone to call the pediatrician and see if there is a formula for calculating child daily percent values from the adult information listed on the back of the jar. I placed the call at 2:28 and the call lasted 2 minutes. I handed him the second sandwich while I was still on the phone, and when the 2 minute call ended I looked to see if he was enjoying it… but what I saw instead terrified me. He was digging in both of his ears saying, “They itch so bad!”

I didn’t waste any time. I have done tons of research on food allergies because my sweet girl is allergic to peanuts, remember? I recalled reading that itchy ears is one of the first signs of an internal response to increased histamine in the blood. The phone was still in my hand from calling the pediatrician and I googled “cashew allergy and itchy ears.” My fears were instantly confirmed. I didn’t even have to open the links that popped up, there were enough of them warning of the dangers of this. My sweet little boy was having an intense and immediate reaction to cashews.

I grabbed the emergency Benadryl from the cabinet and gave him a full dose. He screamed that it burned his throat. I snatched the diaper bag by the front door both kids’ shoes and threw then into their carseats. I looked at the clock on the way out of the driveway and it said 2:38. It had been ten minutes from his first bite and 7 minutes since I first realized he was reacting. I live less than one full mile from our small town hospital. He sneezed the entire way there and gasped for breath in between the sneezes. He said, “I just can’t breathe, momma.” You should know that there is nothing more terrifying than your child’s labored speech as it sounds like someone is squeezing their little throat.  I said over and over, “Just keep breathing buddy, just try to keep breathing.”

I parked by the front door of the hospital because I didn’t want to wait to be buzzed into the ER. I honestly grabbed the first nurse I came to and said, “I gave him cashews and he can’t breathe.” They scooped him up and we were in Trauma 1 in no time. Nurses, Vitals, Doctor and first dose of steroid at 2:48. His little face was swollen and covered in hives. He was itching everywhere and couldn’t stop coughing. His tongue was swollen and so were his little lips. I left my phone in my car so I couldn’t even call my husband to tell him what is happening.

Then, I heard it. “You have the oil in your bag.”

Suddenly, a moment of peace. I remembered the voice of the Lord from earlier in the day prompting me to bring the oil with me. When I realized that He had already seen this moment, I knew everything would be okay. He is always previous, and He wanted to me to know that He had already made provision for peace and healing and complete recovery. He did it on the cross, but the reminder was in a little vial of oil I had tucked in the side pocket of my bag. I took out the oil, slathered in onto my hands, and putting my hands on his back, I prayed, “Breath of Life, fill his lungs in the precious Name of  Jesus.” I don’t think he even knew what I was doing, but I remember the sweet nurse was trying to listen to his back and I had to move my hand so she could.

The doctor came in a few minutes later and called for a shot of epiphederine. His breathing became easier and when he wasn’t coughing/ choking and could finally speak clearly he leaned into the nurse and whispered, “Thank you for my shot to help me breathe better.” Oh my goodness. Tears everywhere. His sweet little face smiled, and I was finally able to relax a little.

This situation is not unlike the rest of our lives. We find ourselves in positions of panic and chaos desperately needing healing, help, relief, peace, or provision. In those moments, God is gently reminding “I have already given you everything you need. Those things are already yours. You have them in your bag, ready to be accessed in your moment of crisis.” Jesus paid for our health and freedom on the cross. Then the Father sent His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and give us access to all of the privileges that being a child of God includes. Listen, friends. We can  hear Him whisper, “Peace is yours! Healing is yours. Comfort is yours. Provision is yours. I am everything that you might need, and I am yours.”

While we have to walk through this crazy life and face things like cashew butter that catch us off guard, God is never surprised. Roman’s 8 says

35″Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

Jesus is not only speaking to me. It wasn’t a hard process to learn His voice. Quiet your heart and ask Him to speak to you. You might even pray the words of Samuel from the Bible, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” God’s words are sweet and His thoughts towards you are good. As my little Pie says, “You might not know Him, but He knows you, and He loves you very much.”

So for you, now, I pray that the breath of Life would fill your heart. I ask Father God to reveal to you His love and provision. That you would hear His voice more clearly than you ever have. That you would be reminded that He knows the end from the beginning and He has already made a way for you. That you would remember that nothing surprises Him. And finally, I ask that you would see the things God has already provided so that you can do whatever needs to be done next.  It is in the name of our precious Jesus I ask these things for you, friends.