Lessons from Last Year's Fear Part II

The story continues... (you may need to read the last post first " Lessons from Last Year's Fear")

The ER Dr. admitted her into the hospital over night because she couldn’t walk.  The next morning, she still had difficulty walking to the bathroom, but progressively got better throughout the day.  The pediatric Dr. took blood work and decided to do a heart echocardiogram and EKG due to elevated  white blood count (WBC )and sed rate (rate of inflammation).  Everything checked out fine, praise the Lord!  The Dr. discharged her because clinically she was much better, but he couldn’t explain why she got better so quickly.  He also warned that , "she may not be out of the woods yet".  Even though all the tests showed her heart functioning normally, it did not mean her heart wouldn’t be affected later.  He instructed us to call our pediatrician if there were any changes.  She finally came home around 5:00 p.m.

The snow storm came as expected, making the roads questionable for travel.   A friend offered to take me to see her in the hospital, but we thought she would be home sooner than she did.  I also had two other girls to consider.  So, my battle continued.  Faith or Fear?  Besides the step I shared in the last post (Focus on the Present), I also had to:

 

I.                      Focus on the Proof.

 With my daughter, I had to focus on truth, the facts, not fantasy.  The facts: she had strept throat, taking medication, swollen ankles, rash, not walking, ER, tests, good test results.  Later: feeling better and home.  Fantasy:  internet search.  I had Jadyn dying of leukemia in three weeks.  I continually had to ask, "What are the facts?"

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (NIV)

To overcome fear, I also had to:

 II.                  Focus on the Plan.

With my daughter, I had to choose a  plan of action.  I needed freedom from fear, or

my inaction would freeze me with fear.

I took these three actions:

           1) Prayer 
          I prayed and called my family to pray, even at 11:00 p.m.  

Philippians 4:6 says,“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

                             2)  Profess Promises

Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

                      I claimed the promise of peace.  If I would pray with thanksgiving like Philippians 4:6 says, the promise of peace in verse 7 results.  I needed peace to guard my heart and especially my mind.  I experienced the peace beyond what I could understand just as verse 7 promises.   

                                3) Praise

I cranked the music and praised God during the day, sometimes singing at the top of my lungs.  I could not stay fearful when I focused on God, not self.

I'd like to say that is the end of the story.  She came home and we lived happily ever after.  But "happily ever after" stories only happen in fairy tales.  I'll share the rest next time.
 (You may want to sign up by e-mail or join this site, so easy to do.  God Bless!   

What about you?  What action do you need to take with your fears?  Do you need to pray about a situation, instead of fear.  Profess the promise of Philippians 4:6-7 to have peace?  Or praise to place the focus on God?

To continue the story:  Lessons from Last Year's Fear Part III