From Amanda, as part of the series on hope:
I awake in the middle of the night sandwiched between my toddler and my preschooler sleeping peacefully. As I listen to their steady breathing and snuggle in the warmth of their little bodies, my heart bursts with gratitude to the Father for blessing me with these two precious little ones.
In an instant, that gratitude is replaced with the all too familiar feeling of panic. What if something were to happen to one of them? How would I ever survive? My throat burns and tears sting my eyes. My heart races with fear and I silently weep into my pillow so I do not wake these little ones that I love so much.
Once upon a time, panic, worry and fear were strangers to me. Then, that hot July morning, I was awakened by a phone call, and they have since become frequent visitors.
"Your father has suffered a heart attack", the voice said over the line.
We rushed to the hospital only to hear that he had already passed. Later we find out that he did not suffer a heart attack, but was electrocuted on the job.
My Daddy, gone in an instant.
Now the enemy taunts me. You're going to lose your husband in a car accident. You're baby is going to get hit by a car. You are going to get cancer and leave your boys with no mother.
And I can't breathe for the fear that suffocates me.
As I wept into the pillow that night, the Lord spoke to me. "Why do you fear death? Haven't I already conquered death and the grave for you so that you may have eternal life?"
Hope.
I may not know how much time on earth I will get to spend with any of my loved ones, but as a child of God, death is something that I do not have to fear because I have been given the promise of eternal life.
Hope.
Titus 4:4-7 "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
The enemy still whispers death, but as Ann Voskamp wrote, "I gasp to say God is good."
For He has given me HOPE.
photo credit
Amanda Medlin is the mama to two precious little boys and the wife to an awesome man of God. She blogs about natural parenting, homemaking, crafting and play-based learning at home. You can find her at Naturally Chic Mama.
