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Fear Not

On a recent Sunday afternoon Andy and I were preparing dinner while Katie tube fed in the next room, Drew and Lexi were in Huntsville enjoying spring break with their Nana and Papa. I noticed Katie was unusually quiet so I went to check on her. When I entered the room I saw her limp body slumped over and her head lying in a pool of vomit. Her eyes stared straight through me, instantly I knew it was happening again. But this seizure was different, she was not convulsing, but she was breathing and not responding so we could only assume she was having a seizure, we went into action to administer a new “rescue” drug and call 911. The very familiar paramedics quickly arrived and we were off to the hospital. As I sat in the front seat unable to even see her, my fears ran wild. Once at the hospital it took 2 hours and several IV medications to finally bring life back into Katie’s eyes. But my thankfulness quickly turned into extreme anxiety.

Over the last 10 months our precious Katie’s seizures went from short and mild to intense and severe. Now they last hours, she has been hospitalized 5 times and put on a ventilator twice.image (19) - Copy But this time was different for me, I left the hospital with more than just a new seizure medication for Katie, I left with a fear I’ve never felt before. Once home I couldn’t sleep, I would lie awake for hours struggling to catch my breath because anxiety was taking over. The “what if’s?” are just too much for me to handle sometimes. We purchased a new video monitor which I thought would help, but instead I just stared at it watching her every breath. I continued to pray, but when you are consumed by fear it literally takes over. But after about a week I have finally calmed down and let God show me the way. IMG_7697 (1)

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

God wants me to rely on Him for everything, so isn’t having fear the same as telling God, “I don’t trust you!”? Fear results from me thinking I am in control. “What if we miss a seizure and don’t get her to the hospital in time? What if I administer her emergency medication wrong? What if I forget one of her 7 daily medications or get the dosage wrong?” Those are real fears, but I have to let go and trust that God is in control. When I live in fear, led by anxiety, I can’t really live at all.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” Matthew 6: 25-27

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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

I am a walking example of this verse. A week ago I was in a deep dark hole, walking around like a zombie, just going through the motions because my thoughts could not stray away from what our lives had now become. Depressed about the fact that things somehow changed with this seizure, reality had set in and our way of life had to become much more seizure centered. My thoughts focused on when the next seizure would come and would it be worse than the last one. But then I felt God’s peace.

“Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

It is difficult to put it into words, but I know God has got this. He is the one in control and when I rely on Him the feeling that comes over me can’t be described. It’s the exact polar opposite of anxiety, it is God’s love holding me when I can’t hold myself.20141019-DSC_0416 - Copy (2) Katie is the most perfect child of God and I know no matter what happens on this earth God holds her too. So my fears of the worse are really pointless because while God’s plan may include a few bumps along the way, He is her ultimate destiny and that is all that really matters.