Help!

There was a time when my youngest screamed about everything. When I say scream, I mean it sounded like he was auditioning for the victim in a horror movie. Granted: stepping on a Lego is painful, but there is absolutely no reason to scream when you lose your pencil, or can't get your sock on straight.

The screaming had left every last nerve in my body frayed. I finally warned Kaden that if he kept screaming about everything, we might not come when he really needed us.

A couple of days later, I had just come in the house from getting some orange juice out of the refrigerator in the garage when I heard screaming. I was planning to vacuum the sunroom and was tempted to ignore the screaming and just go about my business. Something told me I should check on Kaden first.

I came around the corner and froze for a second in fear. He was at the top of the stairs dangling over the banister. He was in a push-up position with his belly on the banister. His feet were hanging over the stairs while his head was hanging over the hard floor one story down. His body was completely horizontal but his feet were tipping higher and higher. He couldn't get himself back on his feet since his palms were facing the wrong way. His arms were shaking with the effort of trying to hold on.

I ran up the stairs and pulled him away from the banister. As I held him in my arms, he repeated over and over, "Thank you for saving me!"

If he had cried out when I was in the garage, I wouldn't have heard him. If he had cried out while I was vacuuming, I wouldn't have heard him. I had been tempted to just let him cry. So many "ifs"!

The good news: God hears us every time we call Him. He is never too busy or annoyed by our cries for help. God is always ready to come to our rescue.

“O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.” ‭Psalm‬ ‭88:1‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭102:1-2‬ (‭ESV‬‬)

We can count on our Savior. Always.

There was some good that came out of that very scary experience. I heard my two sons talking later that day. Kaden said, "I am the most thankful of all of you that I'm still alive."

His older brother, Josiah, said, "No way, Kaden! I would miss you the most!" Finally, a glimmer of hope that these two boys cared about each other.