Stop Living in Fear

As a single mom there is a fear that something could happen to my children or me that would be out of my control.  Anyone who watches the news on a regular basis can feel fear of living in this world where there are rapists, murders, just terrible sick people who will attack random people.  But being a single mom there is a whole added fear.  The fear that my ex husband could snap and do something to our children or me.  I want to clarify right away that mine has never given me a reason to think that he would do something other than he deals with depression from time to time.

My ex husband and I separated in early October of 2006.  That Christmas there was a man, separated from his wife, who entered into his home, where he had lived with his wife and children, and killed them all.  Their story was similar to ours and it scared me.  Ever since then I have always had a fear in the back of my mind. You never really know what makes a person snap, and it is scary to see it all the time in the news.  Just recently we all saw a man that went to go have a visit with his three children and killed them all.  Now the mother, who is still alive, will have to live with that forever.  To be honest, I don't know how you would go on after that.  Through Christ alone.

I think most of us who are not in a healthy relationship with our ex's feel a since of fear of what could happen because of what we hear in the media. It isn't rare anymore for a man to kill his ex, or for a parent to try to kidnap their children during a visit, or worse for a father (or mother) to kill their children.  So even if we haven't been given a reason in our situation, the fear is still there.

I remember the first overnight my youngest had with her dad.  Both of them were so excited.  I sat up all night worried he might not bring her home.

I have a few friends who actually have reason to live in fear.  There have been threats, signs, etc...  There is nothing they can really do physically, but what they can do is give it to God.  Pray for God to protect their family.

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day - our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life - fear of death, fear of judgment - is one not yet fully formed in love.  1 John 4:18

Give your fear to the Lord.  It is really all we can do.  Our fear is legitimate. Why wouldn't we fear for our lives, our children's lives, with the way the world has gone?  I watch my children like a hawk because I fear the evil in this world.  I have seen it, up close, when I was younger and I know pure evil is out there.  It is a constant struggle for me to give my fear to the Lord.  I hold onto it like it is a security blanket. That is no way to live.  Giving it to the Lord gives me a peace.  Is it a peace that nothing will happen? No.  The thoughts are still in the back of my mind... but I still have more peace about it. It is hard to explain in words.