Fear Not

Over spring break my 17-year-old son and I went on a Mother-Son Adventure and created memories to last a lifetime. My husband had taken each kid on a 10-year-old trip. Now it was finally my turn. A trip with mom before each one leaves the proverbial nest. This would be a “mom trip” though I told him. It will be different from your trip to the Grand Canyon with dad. Nothing too adventurous. Nothing out of the country for sure. We almost didn’t go.

Research, google searches, asking for ideas, we weren’t finding anything. It took several months until we found what looked like the trip of a lifetime. But I was nervous, perhaps even a bit scared if I’m honest. A group trip to Costa Rica through Disney. It was the ziplining that got me. I love ziplining, but nobody in the family usually wanted to go. All out of other ideas, I hesitantly shared the trip idea with my son, and he loved it. At that moment I was committed. We spent the next several months planning and well, praying. It may not work out, I kept telling him. COVID could shut it down or who knows what else may happen.

One month prior, we learned the trip was a GO. I got more nervous and excited at the same time. So many things that could go wrong kept haunting my mind. What if we get COVID and can’t get back home? We’ll have to quarantine in Costa Rica for 2 weeks. Caleb didn’t care; he thought that would be awesome. What if the bus breaks down traveling place to place? What if I get injured? What if my back or foot pain erupts? What if sharks come while we snorkel? What if, what if, what if?

Do your thoughts tend to go to the worse case scenarios? I’d probably win an award. I honestly don’t know how I’d live without Jesus. Every anxious thought I must replace with prayer and trust in the Lord. I learned years ago, take those thoughts to the worse situation then ask, is Jesus still there? The answer, of course, is yes. No matter what happens, no matter how bad things are, Jesus is still there. I couldn’t let my fears stop me from this trip with my son. We prayed, we prepared, God opened the doors and now it was time to proceed.

Philippians 4:6-7 is one of my life verses, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When it was time to go on our trip, I did start to feel a peace my mind wasn’t allowed to argue with. It got better each day too. I was surprised. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I admit, I was. We had an amazing trip! It was better than I ever could have imagined. We even had wi-fi on our bus! Wow God! You never cease to amaze me.

I am so incredibly thankful for Jesus every day. He loves me unconditionally. He never leaves me. He never forgets me. Isaiah teaches us to “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” No matter what happens, no matter how bad things are, God is still with us, even when things go wrong. We all know that sometimes things do go wrong.

This week we celebrate Easter. We will celebrate spring and new life. We may celebrate with egg hunts, deviled eggs, and candy. I encourage you to remember to celebrate Jesus. Celebrate true love. Remember that Jesus loves you so incredibly much, that He gave His life for you on the cross. Then, like no other, He rose again from the dead. He appeared to many witnesses who wrote down this miracle so that you and I can know today the stupefying love of Jesus. Do you know He died for you too? He loves YOU unconditionally. He will never leave YOU. He will never forget YOU. Believe in Jesus today, friend. Experience new life in Christ. Begin a new adventure with Him. You will create memories that will last a lifetime.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!!