Do Not Be Afraid

This comes from Ann Voskamp's facebook page this morning and I thought I'd share it with you. Maybe you need a reminder too?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how different this pregnancy is from my first. Not so much physically, but mentally. Emotionally. I had no clue really about what I was getting in to the first time around. My due date was March 16, 2011, and I put full faith in everything going down as it should on that day. You can assume my shock when my water broke three weeks early, the night Sam and I returned from Moffitt where we learned about his diagnosis.

Of course, this time around is different. Life has settled. But as this pregnancy comes to a close, I find myself anxious. Yes, even fearful. Fearing the known. I know now firsthand the fuzziness of due dates, moving through my days and nights, wondering if it will happen within the next 5 minutes or the next 5 weeks. Fearing even the process. (Lord please let my husband stay healthy enough to be by my side.) And certainly fearing the aftermath of caring for another newborn.

But, you see, I'm torn. Because there truly is a miracle in my belly at this very moment I type. A baby I've prayed so very hard for. And I don't want fear to cloud out my joy. So my prayers are for courage in the face of whatever lies ahead. And right now, these words are scratched out on post-its around the house.

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10