Living Without a Spirit of Fear

We had quite a scary experience a few days ago.

Not to go on and on but my son had a seizure while at the babysitter's. I left work early and went with him by ambulance to the emergency room, knowing only that he had a seizure, but nothing else.

It's amazing what your mind will do when you don't know what's happening.

It's amazing how it automatically thinks the worst.

I was practically hyperventilating on the way to get him because I couldn't stop going over the "what if's." I won't list them because if you're a parent, you've probably gone over them in your head.

Maybe a few times.

Fortunately we only spent a few hours in the emergency room after doctors determined the seizure was a febrile one, which means it was induced by a high fever that came rapidly. It most likely will not reoccur but we just have to watch him a little more closely with fevers than we would have before. Apparently they are pretty common with young children.

Which only makes me feel a tiny bit better, because really, when it's your child, statistics don't matter.

Reflecting back on the whole experience made me think about something and was reflected in a comment from a friend.

Being a parent opens up a whole new world of fear.

Being a parent is amazing, no doubt. Watching your kids grow and change in front of you and become these independent little people, laughing at the crazy funny things they do, and wanting to give them so much because you love them so much. I have 2 children, the oldest is almost 3, so I haven't been doing this for long. But I don't think that matters. All parents I know, no matter how young or old, with 1 or 5 kids, love their children with all that they have and would do anything for them.

But being a parent can be scary. There is so much in this world that could hurt my kids and so many things that I can't protect them from. When I got the call from the sitter, my heart almost stopped beating and I lost focus on all else. Thankfully, all is fine, but it was a reminder that my world can change in a heartbeat. I could allow myself to be consumed by all the things there are to fear. Why list them? You probably know the list by heart.

But we are not commanded to live with a spirit of fear. We have an Enemy who wants us to be fearful of everything.

Take the economy for instance.

Maybe you feel the same as I do and are tired of the reporting and constant negative environment that has been created through the media. When you are inundated with all of that information, you really can give into the fear and have it affect your life.

Fearful living is not healthy living.

I'm choosing not to give into fear because I know that God loves me more than the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and if he will provide for them, he'll provide for me too.

I'm choosing to not live in fear, but to trust in God.

Some days are harder than others, but I know that trusting God is the only way to survive in this world. I know that my children are not my own, but they belong to God first. For me, there is the constant "giving over" of them to God, reminding me that while they are my children, they are His children, just as I am His child. So while I cannot protect them from everything, I pray for them daily, and trust that He began a good work in them and will be faithful to complete it.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13