Parenting Advice From Joy Berry: Painful Procedures and Resolving Problems

A few days ago I went in for my annual mammogram. For anyone who has not had this procedure, it would be difficult to understand how painful it can be. However this wasn’t true for the seven women who shared the waiting room with me.

Everyone was engrossed in the soap opera playing out on the TV monitor when a piercing scream emanated from behind the closed door. All of a sudden, the TV drama wasn’t half as engrossing as whatever was going on in the other room. Some of the women shot each other knowing looks, while others shifted nervously in their chairs.

Five turns later my name was called and I solemnly shuffled toward the nurse who was beckoning me into the inner sanctum. When I arrived, I was instructed to disrobe and put on a hospital gown that opened in the front.

The technician led me to the huge machine that was about to squeeze the living daylights out of one of the tenderest parts of my anatomy. And that’s when I saw the sign. It would have been quite impossible to miss it as it was positioned at eye level directly in front of the machine.

The sign read:

Good Morning.
This is God.
I will be handling all of your problems today.
I won’t need your help.
So relax and have a good day!

I can assure you that nothing would have pleased me more than God appearing in the room at that very moment and standing in for me during my mammogram. But no such luck.

Besides, what good would it have done for God to stand in for me? God didn’t need a mammogram. I did.

I started to think more about the sign.

Why in the world would God get involved in everyone’s problems? Isn’t running the universe enough to keep him or her busy?

I made it through the procedure and started home. I was still thinking about the sign.

When I got home I decided to write my own sign.

Good Morning.
This is God.
Most likely you are going to face some problems today.
But don’t worry. You have within yourself everything you need to resolve any problem that you encounter.
And the good news is this—with every problem you resolve you are going to grow and become a better person.
So relax and have a good day!

In two weeks I’m supposed to return to get the results of my mammogram. When I go back, I’m thinking about bringing my sign with me.

Then again—I just might not. After all, what woman is going to be able to focus on a sign while getting a mammogram?

Smile.