For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV.
I like the King James version of this verse because it uses the phrase “sound mind” instead of self-discipline or self-control. Fear tends to make us conjure up a lot of possible (usually frightening) outcomes as a response to something we can’t control.
Fear takes away our usual sound or rational thoughts.
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I am not usually a fearful person, but this past week tested me.
My 23-year-old daughter started showing symptoms of the coronavirus last Tuesday—sore throat, headache, and fever. We hoped it was a normal virus or cold. But by Friday she had pressure in her chest and was weak and dizzy.
She could barely walk across the room without resting. She was nauseous if she thought about eating.
My momma heart hurt for her, and fear was crouching at the door of my emotions. I told the Lord I didn’t want to give in to the fear that was threatening to take over me. I told Him this many times. I kept praying for Alexandria.
If you’ve read many of my blogs, you know my twins were preemies—born at 27 weeks. They had their share of ventilators, pneumonia, and asthma. We worried that her lungs could be ripe for this virus.
Let me just say here she was never officially tested or diagnosed. We were told to stay away from hospitals and doctors’ offices unless you were having trouble breathing. She wasn’t. So we stayed away.
We have a holistic approach to health care. So, we had her on liquid silver and zinc, and vitamins A, B, C, and D. I felt like a pill pusher…
On Friday morning, my husband and I anointed her and prayed for healing. During prayer, the Lord gave me a picture of Alexandria as an infant in the NICU isolate. I remembered this day.
We received a call at 4:30 in the morning telling us our baby girl was in critical condition. She had pneumonia in both bronchial tubes within her chest. She was no longer breathing on her own.
When I got to the NICU, I saw my very sick baby girl. She was gray and still. The doctor gave her a drug to paralyze her so she would not fight the ventilator. We prayed for her and asked everyone we knew to pray for healing.
So, I as saw this picture in my mind, I felt as though the Lord reminded me He healed her then and He could heal her now.
Peace ran through my body, just as it had twenty-three years ago.
Monday morning Alexandria got up, feeling herself again. The fever was gone, the headache, aches and pains disappeared. She wanted to eat.
I am thankful for all the people who were praying for our daughter.
But, mostly, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who knew her plight and never left her or our family.
My family is in quarantine for at least another week or two. The rest of us have no symptoms and I am praying it stays that way.
But my house seems small with five adults here ALL. DAY. LONG! Let me tell you.
I am thankful for friends who have dropped off groceries and hair color, too :).
Stay healthy and don’t give in to fear. It has no place in your home or life. Give it to Jesus and let Him send it to go back to the place it came from.
We have much to be thankful for. We have homes, food, and people who love and care about us.
What are you most thankful for during this time?
As parents we will always be anxious when our kids get sick, go off to college, move away, or as in my case this past week see my two oldest get laid off. One of them until August. How do we handle those situations? We Pray!
Then there are people like my brother who had a chemical imbalance and didnt have a sound mind. He was really intelligent, but couldn’t really be around people. How do we handle those situations? The very same way, we pray!
Prayer is the catalyst for turning fear into hope! ~ Ben C.
Amen! Prayer is powerful! God is good. We sometimes use prayer as a last resort instead of our only recourse! THank you, Ben!
So glad to hear that Alexandria is feeling better. Praying for you all.
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Thank you, Annie! I appreciate it.
Answered prayers! Thank you Lord. Was it COVID-19, was it a mild case of the flu? We won’t know. God does; and He was faithful to hear our prayers. Am still praying for the Pavlantos family my friend. We’re not through all this yet, but always remember we have #FaithGreaterThanFear Well said ma’am. God’s blessings.
Yes, her symptoms seemed to match Alynda’s except the breathing part. I believe God protected her lungs. Thank you for your prayers, J.D.! Praying also for you and Diane.
God bless you guys; that is the key, not succumbing to fear but trusting in the One who watches over us.
My wife and I are constantly saying we are thankful and blessed every day. I have been working from home for about twenty years now. To see the devastation in the economy is heart wrenching, I am blessed to be working in telecommunications, one of the few essential businesses.
We are also extremely thankful that we survived the coronavirus and are now immune. To see the number of deaths is surreal; it is so painful to see this curse sweeping across the world. Like your daughter experienced, there was very little testing back on March 1st. We were in Israel with two people who went a week before us, then joined our tour. They came out of Bethlehem coughing and Bethlehem was shut down 10 days later for Covid-19. We were showing initial symptoms at the Tel Aviv airport on February 29th about 10 days after contact with them, but not having watched the news, had no idea what we had. Both of us had all the symptoms when we got home and took 18 days to recover.
Watching the news occasionally now, we know we were definitely protected because the more we learn, the more we know we had it and overcame it. God is always faithful; we still have more to do for His kingdom.
Wow, Scott! I had no idea. I’m sorry you were battling it for 18 days. I am so glad to hear you have licked it (of course, only by God’s grace.) He is good!
Stephanie, so thankful your daughter is better. Continued prayers for the rest of you, for Psalm 91 protection. We often forget the book of James tells us if anyone is sick to anoint and prayer over them. (James 5: 13-15)
Yes, prayer is more powerful than we know! Thank you, Karen!
Praise God! Yes, I could tell when you told us that you were worried. But, that didn’t last long. You gave it to God, and people noticed your strength then.
Thanks for being our strong arm!
Thank you, Carla!
This is wonderful news! Our Father hears the prayers of His own and chooses to redeem, give, and sustain life! Bless Alexandria and your family!
Thank you, Brita! I am so thankful for my Father and for the prayers of His people.♥️
Oh, Stephanie. How scary! But I just loved reading the detailed ways God banished your fears and healed your daughter … again!
I also enjoyed reading about the dear friends who represented Christ’s hands and feet.
I’m rejoicing with you, sweet sister. My mama’s heart was right there with you. However, I know it will sound silly, but do you know what gave me the biggest smile? God even made sure you got hair color! He is a God of specific gifts.
Hugs! Virtual ones, of course🥰
Yes HE is. The one thing I have learned throughout my life id that Jesus is faithful. He does not leave us or forsake us in our grief, fear, or illness. And yes, He can provide hair color of all things! Thank you, Beckie.
Stephanie, I’m thankful your daughter is better and that all of you are well. Thank you for reminding us that God calls us to trust Him rather than succumb to fear. I hope weather allows some outdoor time for you, the busy momma.
Thank you, Jeanne. I hope you and your family are well! Good luck tonight on Lighthousebiblestudies.
So thankful Alexandria is doing better! I’m also thankful that faith is more powerful than fear.
Thank you, LuAnn. Alexandria is back to normal. God is good!