I Will Not Live In Fear; Here's Why

As a mother of a black son living in America, I could have succumbed to fear a long time ago. When you're constantly bombarded with news of black men suffering excruciatingly at the hands of police officers, it can do something to your psyche. When every shooting seems to justify the blatant disregard for life, it hurts. When one is indeed innocent, that message gets lost in the black and white story. This is not a new phenomenon, though in the past week it seems to have reached a boiling point. Within my circle of close friends and family, most of the men have a story of being wrongly stopped by police - within their neighborhoods, on their way home, and when they least expected. I won't sit here and tell you what to do and how to act when stopped by the police, for though that is good, that too has its flaws.

From the time of my son's birth to the present, I've had an opportunity to be fearful or faith full. I choose to live by faith and not by fear. Living by fear makes you paranoid; makes you skittish; makes you not trust others, torments you in your dark hours. You can't relax whenever your child or husband leaves the house, and while it's normal to a degree for parents to worry, this degree of worry is sickening; it literally can make you sick.

I choose to live by faith grounded in God's word. It's a faith in God that gives me courage; it's a faith that gives wisdom; it's a faith that gives strength. When I was afraid for my son, I prayed and God gave me peace. The more I prayed, the more peace I received. My son one day told me, "Mummy, you don't have to live in fear." That statement combined with my prayers gave me more peace than I can put into words.

I would encourage mothers to pray - but not with resignation but with an expectation that God will protect our boys and men. God will change hearts of those in authority. God will remove the systemic blocks that are in place in our society. God will raise up leaders, mothers, you and me to affect change in our society. We can't do it in our own strength; as we look around we can see the fruits of that. But with God guiding us, a different day is coming.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1 [KJV]

Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. Psalms 115:11 [KJV]

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Psalms 118:6 [KJV]

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 [KJV]

Fear or Faith? How are you coping?