So there is this family reunion coming up in August that I have been planning to attend with Tori.  The last couple of months though I have had this fear that I will not be able to handle (emotionally) being there, around all the “normal kids”, without having a meltdown every day.  If you have a child like Tori you understand that for her to play with the other kids I have to help her almost constantly.  Kids start playing in one area and in the next second they are running off to another room or outside leaving Tori there by herself: enter mom to help her walk to the next play area and make sure she doesn’t get trampled on or left out.  Not to mention the comments I have already heard from other kids recently: “if you want to play with me you need to learn to walk”, “she falls a lot” and then the stares when she does not understand what is going on…of course they are only kids so I do not blame them for noticing her differences.  Now I am not sharing this so you will feel sorry for me but rather sharing to vent and then to share the encouraging things I have read or thought this morning while contemplating if I really want to make this week long trip.

I sat down with my coffee and my phone and yes my Bible and journal were close at hand as well but I was not really in the mood to hear what I needed to hear yet!  Coffee is most essential in the mornings!!!  I opened the Facebook app on my phone to see what is going on in cyber world and Joyce Meyer had recently posted this: “Fear always tells you what you’re not, what you don’t have, what you can’t do, and what you never will be.”  Wow!  That was the first thing I needed to hear…fear always tells me what I cannot do.  I would say fear has been my biggest struggle in my Christian life.  In fact several weeks ago I called my mom crying because I did not think I could go to the reunion and while I was talking to her I realized it was really fear talking.  Here I was again this morning, sitting and crying, letting that fear creep back in!

Joyce Meyer’s verse reference to the above quote was Romans 8:15 so I opened the Bible.  What I came across while in Romans was another of her brilliant statements: “Do not believe your feelings more than you believe God’s Word!” page 1820 of The Everyday Life Bible.  I started thinking of all the promises in God’s Word that pertained to my current state of mind and the following prayer came out:

“Thank You Lord for your Word today – it is exactly what I needed to hear.  I know You have promised me peace, help in time of need and a sound mind.  I know I can do anything I need to do because You have promised me strength! Thank You for caring for me affectionately.  Please help me to learn to rebuke fear and learn to live by Your promises instead of being led by my feelings and emotions.  Thank You, Lord, for your promises!”

Peace: Isaiah 26:3, Amplified Bible (AMP). You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Help in Time of Need: Hebrews 4:16, King James Version (KJV), Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Sound Mind: 2 Timothy 1:7, Amplified Bible (AMP), For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Strength: Philippians 4:13, King James Version (KJV), I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

God Cares for us Affectionately: 1 Peter 5:7, Amplified Bible (AMP), Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

I am so thankful to have a God who encourages and strengthens me for my day ahead!