Brooke Schrader walked into my office last week, a cute eleven-year-old girl with blonde hair, freckles, pixie eyes, and a big grin. Her mother and pastor came along. They thought it would be good for Brooke to meet another person facing some tough limitations. That’s because she has juvenile arthritis. I would never have guessed that, except her mother pointed out Brooke’s fused ankles. After that, I noticed how she kept squeezing her hands and rubbing her knuckles. I also noticed her stiff gait. This girl was in a lot of pain. But her smile never showed it.
I asked if Brooke and I could spend some quiet time alone in my art studio. We sat in there and talked about her friends at school, her hobbies, and her interest in art. Then it turned to spiritual things. I asked Brooke what her favorite verse was, thinking it might be “Psalm 23" or “Romans 8:28,” what most kids would choose. I was not prepared for Brooke’s answer. She sat up straight on my art stool and quoted this line from James 3. She got it word perfect. She said: “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” I was taken aback. This was a very unusual life verse to come out of the mouth of an 11-year-old!
But Brooke explained it. She said to me: “I could do a lot of complaining about my arthritis, but I’ve learned that’s not right. I really want to trust God. I don’t want to complain.” Brooke’s eyes held mine, revealing wisdom far beyond her years. I sat there under her gaze and I kind of squirmed and privately confessed how I had been grumbling over a backache earlier in the day.
When Brooke left, she left this freshness in her wake. This eleven-year-old kid reminded me I have nothing to complain about. God used the wisdom of a little child to lead me.
Oh, that we would bite our tongues before we start grumbling and complaining over the slightest inconveniences. I don’t know about you, but I have to keep reminding myself that God is God… and because of that, there’s nothing He’s allowed in my life that should give me reason to complain. If He’s allowed it (whether juvenile arthritis for Brooke or quadriplegia for me)… if God has permitted it to touch our lives, then we have every reason to be grateful and not grumble; to rejoice in the Lord and not resist; we have reason to praise, not pout about our woes. Will the pain go away? I doubt it. Brooke is probably still rubbing her knuckles and I am still working to find the most comfortable way to sit in my wheelchair. But even in the midst of that, God asks us to trust Him, to follow Him and to do it with a smile.
I don’t know if a Brooke Schrader will walk into your life this week like Brooke walked into mine, but you might be on the lookout. It’s just like God to show his wisdom through a child sometime over the next day or two and when you meet her, don’t complain, but smile!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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