Fear no more!

I think I should have a room reserved for me at the loony bin.  Seriously. 

This week, well, last few weeks.  First, my upcoming knee surgery.  And I honestly didn't think I would need surgery!  HAHAHA.  What do I know?

Then we had the Tessa header into the school parking lot! 

Then I fall down the steps holding Levi on Sunday morning!

Then Levi chokes on an apple!  And coincidentally Tessa is out sick that day due to a fever and a suspected (and later confirmed ear infection)

Today Ava scared herself silly, came flying down the stairs, didn't wait for the gate to be opened, folded in half over it, flipped and went air borne and landed flat on her back. 

But it got me thinking.  1) as a mom of 4 kids, there is never a dull moment. 2) I am clumsy and it appears my children got my "grace"  3) Each and every one of those situations could have been monumentally worse. 

Tessa could have had a broken nose (and it's a miracle it wasn't!)  Levi and I could have broken bones due to our fall, Levi could have choked to death on that apple.  As a piece of it spent 4 hours lodged in his throat and finally came out at the ER.  And this morning, Ava could have broken something.

I feel so blessed that we've all escaped with minimal damage. 

I'd like to talk about Ava and this morning.  I don't know what she is scared about upstairs, but she hates to be up there alone.  And she seriously scared ME this morning.  I heard her scream and I went running to the stairs and as I was trying to get the gate open she comes flying down, it sounded like she was falling down the stairs and I stood by, helpless, while I watched my baby hit the gate, fold over it in half and flip over.  It was all so fast it was over start to finish in about 4 seconds.  I asked her what scared her and she wouldn't say.  I'm so at a loss.  I told her that she could tell me anything and that no one or anything in our house would harm her. 

It just brings me to the subject of fear. 

Fear:

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat which causes entities to quickly pull away from it and usually hide. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.

I have never really be a "scaredy cat."  But lately, I'm not so sure I'm not.  I don't like when Jason isn't home and I sleep alone.  I hate when we move and I have to get used to all the new house noises, I kiss my kids goodbye at school every morning and part of me worries about what might happen to them while they are under the care of someone else.  I mean, what do I know about their teachers?  But then the more rational part of me points out that I can't wrap them in bubble wrap and keep them at home.  Because if we allow it, fear becomes crippling.

I want to teach my kids that fear is ok.  It's an emotion and it's a very useful one.  Knowing to be afraid of something is a self preserving mechanism.  But I also want to teach that certain things we're afraid of, we have to face.  Which is scary and often paralyzing.  I have things that make me want to crawl in a closet and never come out.  And if I let myself think about all the things that can happen or that might scare me, I would never EVER leave my house. 

I certainly don't have all the answers and even the ones I have, well, they wouldn't work for everyone.  I am a pull yourself up by your bootstraps and muscle through it kind of gal.  And that isn't right for everyone.  It's not always right for me!  But one thing I do know is that I know someone who always has the ability to calm me down, set me straight and protect me through ANYTHING I can possible conjure up to scare myself with...God!  If God is for us, who can be against us? 

And with that, I am teaching Ava this bible verse tonight:

  But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end— Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. Isaiah 43:1-4  (emphasis mine)

The whole of creation!  God would trade the whole of creation for me.  For Ava.  For YOU! 

Yeah, I'll stop and let that sink in for you! 

I wish you all a day filled with peace, joy and understanding!