Fear Not

Nine months of waiting (and puking and waddling and sleeping excessively) culminates on the day your sweet baby is born. After hours of panting and pushing, this preciously helpless creature is handed over to you with no instruction manual. No alarm clock that dings when it is time to be fed. No magic formula to console the poor little thing and help him to stop crying incessantly at three o'clock am. What car seat should I purchase to ensure my child's safety? Five point harness? Three point harness? One that cost $350 or the one that costs $150? Surely the one that cost a fortune is safer, right? LATCH system? Oh no, my car doesn't have a latch system.. surely my child is destined for destruction. It is safest for your child to be in the center seat. But, I have three children and one back seat.. someone is going to be near the window. Oh dear. Worry. Worry. Worry. No clear direction on what to do when your child turns two and stomps her chubby little baby feet in a clear display of dissatisfaction when you tell her she can't play with markers and color all over your white chair cushions (never mind that you should never own white chair cushions and a two year old at the same time) or dumps her mashed potatoes defiantly on the floor. What exactly should you do when he comes home in tears because someone laughed at him and spoke harsh words? What should you do when he comes home and shares that HE laughed at some one and called names? Parenting has, without question, been the hardest endeavor I have ever taken on. The unknowns and questions are endless and the clear answers, rare. Whenever this unique combination surrounds a particular circumstance, fear invades our hearts and minds. So, what now?

We have two choices. We can be debilitated with our fear and worry. We can allow the enemy a point of entry into our minds to take our focus away from the Lord and all things true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). Or, we can take this opportunity to turn our focus to the Lord... to have faith and trust... finding Him in his Word while seeking his will and praying without ceasing. It is when we do this, that the peace of the Lord which transcends all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).

Before I was a believer, I did not believe in absolute truth. How could I, right? The only standard I had to live by was the world's and it is obviously ever changing. The standard of right and wrong depends on what decade you are referring and who in that decade you are talking to. When I began a relationship with Jesus, I realized that there is absolute truth. There is right and there is wrong. There are also Godly guidelines to living and, Praise the Lord (that is worthy of shouting from the rooftops again and again), child rearing. Not that I never have doubts or worry about my children. Actually, for me personally, it is quite the opposite.. the area of fear and worry - thus, lack of faith - is one of my largest sin issues. But, I now know where to go to find truth.. to find the answers and, as a result, finding the peace of the Lord. It is found in the Bible.

When the feeling of the Lord's peace washes over me, there is nothing I am fearful of.. even death. The words of Paul resonate with me - "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). The other morning at breakfast we were talking about birthdays and Sophia, always thinking her birthday is right around the corner, was talking about what she wanted for her birthday because it was next. Reluctantly, I reminded them that it was yours truly's 31st birthday that was coming up next, then Emily's, THEN sweet Sophia's. "THIRTY-ONE!" Sophia exclaimed. "Wow, you're almost DEAD!......... But, that's ok Mom. Because you will go to heaven and I will go to heaven TOOOO!"... said with a smile.

"Do not fear, for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10).

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulnes, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).