Asthma, Genetics & Sin

My son got an asthma inhaler today. It wasn't a big surprise--my wife has used them since she was little, so we were just waiting for one of the boys to need one. Anders has been coughing a lot at night and in the morning when he's in bed. He started doing it more during the day. So we got him into see his doctor today.

It's not confirmed, but that's the suspicion. He's supposed to use the inhaler for a month and see how things are. I didn't get to go to the doctor, so I wasn't in on everything. It's a bit scary, even though we were expecting it. And my wife has had it, so it's nothing new to her. But it's still not what you want for your kid.

When I think of asthma, I think of the book The Lord of the Flies and the line, "Sucks to your ass-mar, Piggy." For it does suck. While it's not as hard to deal with like Anders' best friend who has diabetes, it's still not fun to have. And it sucks that those bad genetic traits get passed on to our kids who have no choice in the matter.

Of course, there are worse things we pass on to our kids. I know my kids have gotten plenty of my sinful tendencies. I'm trying to work on some of my bad habits still, and all the more as I see my children doing them. I'm all the more conscious of my sins when I see my children falling into the same patterns. I don't want them to go down some of the same roads I have gone down. I want them to be better than I am.

Thankfully, there's a cure. Thankfully, God loves us, the Son died for us and the Spirit transforms us each day.