For every action...

Does anybody recall this Newton's Law from school?

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I did take one physics course in high school and another in college, and I did enjoy them.  But I can honestly say I still do not understand the stuff very much.  I am talking today about the reaction law in reference to our actions or reactions in terms of our fears.

Here's the thing...I am by far a drama queen.  I can overreact with the best of them.  I can definitely turn my molehills into mountains.  And, I can have these same overreactions to my worries and fears.  If I allow the devil to throw his darts of doubt, and get inside my thinking, I can take the smallest incident and make it life altering.

But you see, I also now have four little eyes watching my every move.  For every action I take in regards to my fears, they will absorb it and in turn think it is okay to react that same way.  If Mommy is fearful, I should be fearful.  If Mommy is upset, I should be upset.  If Mommy is not depending on God, I can't depend on God either.

Two very recent examples include...
1)  Last week we came home late to an empty house.  Daddy is having to travel a little more than normal and he was still away.  Some things happened that to say the least, scared me quite a bit.  I wanted to really have a break down.  I really wanted to show my fear and my worries.  The drama queen was itching to rule her ugly head.  But, there sat my two precious girls on the couch.  My oldest asks, "Is everything ok Mommy?"   I cannot tell her "No Mommy is too scared, let's get out of here."  Which did, in all honesty cross my mind.  Instead it was a great teaching moment to show how we depend on God to protect us and face our fears.  When we trust Him in our scaredy cat moments, we are teaching our children to trust Him when they are afraid as well.

2)  Just this very week, my oldest daughter's preschool was put on lock-down.  There was an apparent gunman on the community college campus next to her school, and the whole area was off limits as the search was on.  I wanted to cry.  I wanted to try to get back on her campus just to be there with her.  I knew they wouldn't let me in, but I wanted to be as close as I could be.  I paced.  I made calls.  Did I mention I wanted to cry?  I then saw my youngest daughter's big brown eyes looking at me as if she might cry as well.  I was scaring her with my actions.  I was reacting to my fears by being more fearful and not fully trusting in God's protective power.  My youngest daughter turned 22 months this week, and she is repeating everything we do and say.  I do not want her repeating my overreaction to fears.  The matter was resolved quickly, and my oldest daughter really has no idea what even happened that day.  But it was another reminder in a weeks time that made me realize I do not want to raise fearful children.

I want to strengthen their faith in God every single chance I get.  If I react to my fears by not relying on God's power, they will in turn not know how to react to their fears by trusting in Him.  I am to teach them by not only words but by my example of depending on Him for everyday issues as well as frightening issues.

I have talked about keeping my guard up when it comes to controlling my fears.  Just when you think you have a fear conquered, there can be a new incident that stirs a certain fear back up again.  We have to never let our guard down when it comes to our fears.  The devil will use any chance he can get to make us fearful and not rely on God.  Keep those Bible verses handy that can help squelch those fears (2 Tim 1:7, Ps 56:3, Ps 27:1)  There are so many good ones.  That is why we are to hide God's word in our hearts to resist the temptation to fear.  And we are to teach our children these verses as well.  Our kids are sponges, and soaking up God's Word is the best thing they can copy cat.   I really had not had an "I am scared" moment while my husband has been away in quite a long time, but in just a matter of seconds I had one.  I had to pull out my sleeping verse (Ps 4:8) to be able to rest that night, but I was so glad I had it hidden in my heart to provide the comfort I needed.

Today's verse
"Thou art my hiding place and my shield:  I hope in thy word."  Psalms 119:114

We can hope in His word so that our actions and reactions reflect God's love and our confidence in God's power.  He is our hiding place.  He is our shield.  It is a true blessing to know that for every dart the devil throws my way, I can react with a verse  to avoid the hit.