Fear has no place here.

When a family goes through something very traumatic, it really can take a lot of time to recover from the event if one fully recovers at all. One might think he or she is over it, but then something happens that instantly transports the person back to the event...and fear tends to creep in often unnoticed.

Three years ago, our family lost our home in a flood that rampaged through Franklin, Indiana, and other counties throughout the state. The events of that day will never escape my mind and apparently, they won't escape the mind of my now seven year old boy. My son was 4 years old at the time of the flood. While many facts are unknown to him about the day of the flood, there are still enough memories from the day that cause fear for him whenever threatening weather occurs.

This, as you can imagine, is very difficult as the recent weather has provided nothing but one scare after the other. I, too, continue to work through issues with excessive rain, so Josiah and I are (without his knowledge) working through this together.

There are two things that we discuss whenever this fear tries to strangle him.

first------------------------------------Fear has no place here.

If you follow me on facebook and you see this as my status update, this is an indication that something big is going on....something that requires bravery and courage and this is a reminder to myself and others that fear has no place in our lives.

NO place.

secondly-------"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."

we have to remind ourselves that God isn't the provoker of fear. Fear is not of Him. Fear is a measly attempt to hold us back...to allow doubt to creep in....to discourage us...to strangle and paralyze us.



My boy is afraid of the wind when it tears through our yard or causes things to move from their original state. He is afraid of the lightning...the thunder....the hail...and even the rain. Many children are afraid of these very things, so I know that my son's fear and anxieties are not isolated and his fear is shared by many. I do, however, want him to come to a place where he trusts that his parents are not going to let him down...or deceive him....or lie to him about the weather just to calm him down. I want him to look the storm in the eye and tell it: FEAR has no place here. I want him to be brave...courageous....bold....and confident that regardless of what the wind moves or the lightning strikes or the hail dents or the rain drenches....he will be okay.

Fear has no place here because God has not given it to us. He has given us power, love, and a sound mind.

those...

have a place here.

power.

love.

sound mind.

Those have a place here.