I have a confession, when my kids were little I would not go in and wake them. I always waited until they cried. I was afraid something would be wrong and they would not. I know this was an irrational fear but still... And then it wasn't When my son, Dalton, was in 8th grade, I went into wake him up and he wouldn't wake up. Bryan was already at work so I called my father-in law to come help - thinking he is just not wanting to get up. So when Granddaddy couldn't wake him up, I finally called 911. The EMTs were able to wake him up to get him on a gurney. At the hospital, they discovered the he had a seizure at some point during the night. The couldn't figure out why. They sent him by ambulance to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital which is 30 minuets away. Since, they didn't know what was wrong, they kept him sedated. He finally woke up at 9 o'clock that night. They don't know what caused the seizure and he has never had another. As a mother ~ as a person ~ I have never so scared in my life. It took away. We sat by his bed all day, not knowing if he would wake up or not. If he did wake up, would there be complications. Fortunately, he fully recovered. Many people, including one of my brothers, do not get to take their children home. For weeks, even months, I would go by his room and just be paralyzed by that memory, even though I though I could hear hims and his sister, Bobbye Sue fighting in the living room. Fear can changes our life. We teach our kids to fear and be careful of strangers so they won't be hurt or taken. We teach theme not to pet animals they don't know. Even babies cries sometimes if they're being held by someone they don't know. Fear is natural; it keep us from going head on into danger. Even though I don't think there were fear in the Garden of Eden, But I do think it's an emotion that God allowed Adam and Eve to have after the fall. Fear can keep us safe. I was involved in an online discussion years ago about fearing God and someone said that if you fear God, it's a lack of faith. I totally disagree. We do trust God and in so bible verses He tells us not to fear Him such as Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteou4s right hand. But there are also verses that tells us to fear, like; Psalm 96:4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. So, when do you know when to fear God and when not to be afraid. I thinks it's a heart issue. If I'm doing what I know is right I trust God to take care of and still be afraid the things He does. Anyone that can conjure up a plague of flies, I'm going to fear Him and try not to get on His bad side. However, If I am living in sin, you better believe I'm going to be afraid of God. Have you seen what He can do to people? He struck Ananias and Sapphira dead just for lying to Peter and not tithing enough after they sold a piece of land
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Everyone has a story. Nope, everyone has thousands of stories that make up our life. Some are really good, and some, well may not be so good. As a writer, I love to tell a good story. Actually, if it's a really it tells itself and you're just a vessel it comes through. A good story many parts I love that Hebrews 12:2 say "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Our story is not always going to be a fairy tale, but it's not always doom and gloom either.. We all have different values and circumstances. My story as a white middle class mother looks a lot different than a mother in Ethiopia who has to struggles everyday just to feed her kids; but we both moms who love their kids. Some stories are longer than others. I almost died when I was born; so my story almost over before it got started good. We all know kids, and people in general who've died and we make think; their story was done yet. But that not for us to say. One of my brothers lost his oldest son about a year and a half. It was a tragic accident that no one really knows what or how it happened. He was engaged, had a nine month old daaughter and a two year old step son. The family made the decision to donate his organs. I think they helped more than six people. The woman who got his heart has become a close friend to the family and is now traveling across Europe; a trip she probably she'd never get to take. There are parts of our story that are set in stone: our race, sex, our parents etc. However, There are parts we do get to choose: Do we belie in God? who we love ~sometime we get to choose who we marry and how many kids we have. I think one of the biggest things we get to choose is our attitude; or we're going to feel sorry for what we don't have or are we going to be thankful for what we do have? Life is hard; no one's debating that; my mama always told us that there's always someone worse off than us. GO TELL YOUR STORY! |