Life Unafraid {Day 3} When the Unafraid Gets Pushed Aside

*This month, I’m joining a bunch of other bloggers in a challenge to write for 31 days on a topic about change. Having struggled with fear (sometimes paralyzing) for a lot of my life and missing much of the living that I know God wants for me, I am on a mission to live unafraid for 31 days straight, challenging you to join me. And I’m writing about it. You can catch up here if you’ve missed any of the days.

Six words get my heart racing like no other words in the English dictionary.

So when my youngest looked at me last night and spoke them right to my face, all semblance of my I’m-living-unafraid-no-matter-what-for-31-days-in-a-row jumped right off the couch and ran out the the front door. By the time we got the bathroom and prayed, the nausea was gone. But the fear was back with a determined force that could only be fought with the truth of God’s Word and the very real name of Jesus Christ.

We prayed out loud, said His Name out loud, too. And then she felt better. Call it what you will, but I call it the power of God at work in my home.

So then, you might ask, why was I so afraid when I got back to the couch? Why did my heart still race, and why did I keep looking at her, asking if she still felt all right? Where was the unafraid now that the barf didn’t happen?

I fought the fear from my spot on the couch, even as the worry grew. I remembered my vow of unafraid living, and at the same time, I struggled to trust the One Who I know sometimes allows things like barf to get me over the fear.

I remembered how He’d gotten me through the fear of it four years ago, when she ended up in the hospital for three days with severe dehydration. And then again, those many other times of late night Emergency Room runs for the very same thing. I’d thought about her propensity for dehydration before we left the States, and the doctor who knows her history so well, and even back then, I had decided to trust God’s hand with even that.

But last night on the couch, that trust looked a little less firm. A tad less stable. I talked to God about this, begged Him actually, and He reminded me that real life only comes from One. Real living can only happen when I truly trust His way, no matter what. Barf or no barf. German hospitals and doctors or American ones.

I opened up the Bible, realizing that was the only real way to fight this battle, and read words that God had spoken to His children about battles they would face.

I prayed as I read it. I asked GOD, my God, to help me keep my resolve, to help me not panic. To remember that His being right there with me is absolutely enough. I told Him that I want to know His real real life more than I fear my daughter’s barf, or the possibility of dehydration and all that might entail, or the rude mid-sleep awakening with a different five words, “Mom, I just threw up.” Yes, the very Word of God fought my battle with fear last night for me.

And, you know what? She never threw up.

So today, I am thanking God for that. And I am thanking Him for the strength He’s giving me to fight the fear and to really live. Unafraid.

How do you fight fear when the unafraid gets pushed aside? You can leave a comment, or maybe a truth about peace or fear, by clicking the comment bubble at the top of this post and typing in the box that shows up.