My poor baby boy is teething and having quite a hard time of it. The sad result is a very wakeful, restless night, tired Mama and Baby, lots of tears, cold teethers, near-constant nursing, and oodles of hugs and kisses.

As I was holding my Little Man today to comfort him–after he tumbled and bit his little tongue on the one tooth he already has–I started thinking about how like these little ones we are in the sight of our Father. To my little guy, I’m sure life seems like one painful experience after another right now. He pulls himself to his feet using anything he can get his hands on for support, and just as he feels confident, he falls over. Sometimes he fusses because he thinks that’s a good way to get sympathy from Mama, but other times he’s hit his head or scratched his arm or was simply scared by the sudden fall. As he learns, he experiences little “victories” as well as the little “defeats.” As a backdrop to it all, there’s the ever-present pain in his tiny baby mouth.

As his mama, I know that to grow, he has to go through some hard times. I know that this tooth will cut through in the next couple days and I remember that as soon as his first tooth came through, he had relief. I know that this won’t last long… and in just a few weeks he’ll be much more experienced when it comes to this thing of standing and will be ready to venture out and take a step or two. But to him, in the difficulty of the present, it seems like life is just hard.

How often, as we grow and develop in Christ, we wish for the pain to subside. We ask for life to be a little easier–for just a small amount of relief. We have tears in our eyes and, if we could get away with it, would probably cry with everything in us like a teething baby does. We just want to be held and comforted. But our loving Father sees the big picture. He knows that we need to be in the protection of His arms and need His comfort. And just as earthly parents know that if their little ones aren’t given the opportunity to fall and feel the pain, they’ll never learn and grow, He gives us the perfect balance of time in His arms, as well as time to hurt a bit so that we can develop into maturity.

I say this now, and know that there isn’t any major source of pain in my life at the present. But, just as Troy gets a break between bouts of teething, I know this is just one season. I can be certain that soon I’ll have tears in my own eyes and need to be reminded of this truth by dear ones who are now learning firsthand the power and strength of God’s grace through their “hard days.” I pray I’ll always be reminded of the loving lessons taught by my Heavenly Father each time this mommy wipes a tear from a rosy little cheek, gives soothing kisses after a bump on the head, or sits nearby and allows my baby to wobble a bit while he learns to stand on his own.