It's wrong for me to be fearful.

I am the mother of one brave little boy! He is so fascinated by this beautiful world God has made and everything in it. He wants to explore this world and grab life by the horns. He isn’t afraid of anything. Sometimes, when he tries something new, a brief look of fear passes over his face. Then, he smiles and dives right in!

I am not a brave person. Even as a child I was always very cautious. I rode down hills on my bicycle poised and ready to press the brakes the very instant I became afraid. My brother, Nick, wore out many bicycles because he was brave and daring. He always tried new stunts. I wore out the brakes on many bicycles due to my constant fear of going to fast, falling, getting hurt. 

Noah, my son, didn’t get his spirit of bravery from me. He got it from Jesus. I prayed it upon him even before he was born. I prayed that he would be brave and follow Jesus. I prayed that he would be brave so that God could use him. I still pray that all the time.  Soon after Noah was born God told me that he will be a missionary. I really believe that God has this path laid out for him. I’m not sure what that will look like yet. It’s up to God. It’s just my job to pray and teach Noah to pray and seek God’s purpose for him in life.

Along the way, sometimes I get really afraid. I am sometimes afraid for him to spread his wings. Sometimes I am afraid for him and for myself too. This spirit of fear often gets justified. I say “I’m his Mom. It’s my job to worry.” The truth is, it’s not. It is my job to try to protect him and keep him safe from the dangers of this fallen world. God has charged me with that. It is not my job to worry about the things I cannot control and it is not my job to stifle the bravery and spirit of independence the Lord has given him. It is my job to foster those things.

I need to be there to pick him up when he falls. To hug him and comfort him as a way of teaching him to look to God for his comfort and solace when he falls in life. I need to set up a relatively safe environment for him to learn and grow as Christ would have him to do. It is my job to monitor the influences in his life and to ensure that he is learning the right things. I’m supposed to let him go to follow God’s path and that is tough for me. God’s path is sometimes scary and,as the scripture says, full of persecution (2 Timothy 3:12 reads “All that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution.”) 

I’m trying and often failing, but I am still striving, to live without the fear the devil is continually trying to persuade me to consume. After all, God says “I have not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).  Comment below to give me encouragement as I try not to be a fearful mother, wife, and servant of Jesus.  Share your experiences with bravery and fear. As always, prayer requests are welcome too.