Lessons from Last Year's Fear

Last February, my middle daughter, seven-years-old, had a sore throat one Friday morning with no fever, so off to school she went.  She felt fine over the weekend.  However, the next week she ran a fever and complained of headaches off and on, but felt fine with medication.  3 a.m. Sunday morning (of course it’s the weekend), I called a triage nurse.  He thought she probably just had a mild case of the flu, even though she had a flu shot, and recommended waiting until Monday morning to see our doctor.  By Sunday evening (Super Bowl Sunday), she had an excruciating earache.  So, off to urgent care we went.  She had a bulging ear drumb (that bursted later that night, ouch!) and was diagnosed with strept throat.  (Never saw that coming!)  She started antibiotics; and we were sure she would be better in no time.

However, On Tuesday, we went to a Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game (Go Thunder!) for Upward basketball night.  By the end of the night, she complained that she couldn’t walk.  When we got home, we noticed her ankles were swollen and a rash on the lower part of her legs.  After a phone call to triage, the nurse said we could wait until the next day to see our doctor, but she was not sure if they would be open because of the predicted record snow storm.  My husband took her to the ER.  The doctors weren’t sure what was wrong.  Now the decision for me, fear? Or faith?  Through this trial, God taught me some steps to take to deal with fear.  

 

I.                    Focus on the Present

  Matthew 6: 27 - 34 says,  "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life ? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow ; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?  You of little faith ! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

With my daughter, I had to focus on the present, not the future.  The present: my daughter had to go to the ER.   I should not worry about the future: how long she would be there, how we would deal with a child in the hospital for months, or how would this change our lives in the future.  Of course, this was a moment by moment choice.  When Satan tempted me to worry about the future, I had to  remember these verses.

I'll share some more of the story and the other steps next time. 

What fear do you have that you should focus on the present?

To continue the story: Lessons from Last Years Fear Part II