Most people look forward to summer. I think we all look forward to the trees and flowers coming to life again. Warm weather also means that we can enjoy the outdoors once again without having to put on heavy sweaters and jackets.
This is exactly what 5-year-old Mason McNair was doing one day in May in LaGrange, Georgia. He was staying with his grandparents. One day he got a tick on him, and when his grandparents were getting him ready for a bath, they saw the tick on his skin and immediately pulled it off. It was a good thing that they noticed it, because ticks can be very dangerous! They are often carriers of diseases that can make a person extremely sick, causing them to have much pain and discomfort.
The area around the tick bite soon became red and swollen, so Mason’s mother immediately took him to the doctor. The doctor gave him an antibiotic to take for the next ten days, hoping that this would kill any infection that Mason might have gotten from the tick. But on the last day of taking the antibiotic, Mason got much worse instead of better. He developed a rash, fever, fatigue, diarrhea and stomach pain.
Poor Mason! Within 18 hours, the rash had spread over much of his body. His mother knew that something wasn’t right, so she called his doctor. The doctor thought that the rash was a delayed reaction to the antibiotics that he had been taking and should clear up within six weeks.
Mason’s mother had a bad feeling about this. She just knew that it was something more serious than a reaction to the medicine that Mason had been taking. She called her sister who was a veterinarian (an animal doctor) for advice. Her sister told her to search for answers online. She also suggested that Mason get a blood test done for tick-bite diseases.
This was good advice, and Mason’s mother did just that. Because of the symptoms that Mason had and the time in which he developed them, she believed that he had Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If this disease is not treated, it can have serious results. A person can lose their arms, legs, fingers or toes, or experience hearing loss, paralysis or mental disability.
Mason’s mother went back to the doctor and showed him her research. The doctor agreed with her and then gave Mason the correct antibiotic to help him get better. It worked! And within three days Mason was feeling much better. How thankful she was that she had done her research and that the doctor was able to give Mason the right antibiotic!
Most tick bites are not dangerous as long as they are pulled off a person in a short amount of time. But Mason’s mother wanted everyone to know just how dangerous they could be and what symptoms they should watch for.
Mason was not cured of Rocky Mountain spotted fever until he got the right medicine for it. Until then, he was a very sick little boy! Boys and girls, did you know that we are all “sick” and that we will surely die unless we find a cure? Jesus said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:1717When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:17)). Many people think that they are righteous or too good to be sinners in God’s sight. Our sins are what make us “sick” in God’s sight. If we die in our sins, we will not go to heaven to be with Jesus. We will die and go to the worst place called hell.
The Bible tells us that there is a way to be cured, or cleansed from our sins in God’s sight. First John 1:99That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Because “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:33For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3)), we can tell God we are truly sorry for all of the bad things we have done. He wants to forgive us. God wants us to believe in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross for us and that He rose from the dead and is waiting for us to join Him in heaven. When our sins are truly forgiven, then we have “eternal life.” “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). Boys and girls, are your sins forgiven?