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Refresh the fear



I am re-sharing a devotion I did for The Hummingbird online devotional in 2011. This one spoke to me again since the Connecticut massacre...the fear that envelops us as parents. THis past week one of our little triplets had an MRI on her barin. Praise the Lord she is fine. I felt the howling wind, but the storm was calmed. So here is a refresher on fear...

READ -Matthew 14:13-36
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” –Matt 13:30

            Howling wind beat against the mobile home and the windows of my bedroom seemed as though they were going to pop out toward me as I lay shaking in my bed. I hated storms. I hated the wind even more. From birth until age 15 I lived inside a trailer with my parents and younger sister. The wind storms that blew on top of our hill nestled against the mountain terrified me. I convinced myself a tornado would spiral into our yard and sweep us away. I hated “The Wizard of Oz”’s opening scene of Dorothy running from the twister. I slept on the floor of my parents’ bedroom during thunderstorms.
                Fear had enveloped me.
                I recalled praying with all intensity as I sweated through the night clenching my fists for the Lord to please, please make it stop. Some even laugh when I tell them how fearful I was even up until age 15, the year I was saved. We moved into a sturdier home six months before I was 16. I felt safe. There was a basement below and the wind didn’t seem as loud. Even though actual wind no longer scares me, I sometimes let storms of life distract me from the horizon. So did Peter. Jesus asked him “Why did you doubt?”Good question.
                Reach out in the storm and take his hand. You may get wet, but you won’t be swept away from His embrace.
 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A13-36&version=NIV


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