Powdered Medicine
After my mother was hospitalized with shingles, I brought her to stay at my home. As I prepared porridge for every meal and gave her medicine, I remembered how difficult it had been for me to swallow pills when I was young. Whenever I took medicine, I would put a pill in my mouth and try over and over to swallow it, but only the water would go down. The pill would roll around in my mouth, gradually releasing its bitter taste and making me miserable, but it simply would not go down. For me, my parents would crush the pills and mix them with water. Then, somehow, I could swallow them easily. As soon as I took the medicine, my mother would quickly put a piece of candy in my mouth.
Now my mother cannot swallow pills, just as I could not as a child. So I dissolve powdered medicine in a small bowl and spoon-feed it to her. Unable to resist her youngest daughter insisting that she has to take it even if she does not like it so that she can recover quickly, she swallows it with a grimace. Watching her, I have mixed feelings.
As I care for my mother, I find myself thinking of the devoted love of our Heavenly Parents. To Their heavenly children suffering from the disease of death, Heavenly Parents gave us the new covenant with loving concern, telling us that we must receive it in order to be healed. Even when we find it difficult and struggle to receive it, They do not blame us. Instead, They mix it with the love and sacrifice in Their hearts and gently give it to Their children. How could I ever repay Them for such love? I am truly grateful for the sacrifice and love of our Heavenly Parents.
