Faith over Fear: Six Things that I Am Doing to Overcome My Fears

Faith over Fear: Six Things that I Am Doing to Overcome My Fears

By now, you all are aware of and are living a life in the times of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Two weeks ago, our lives were normal. Our oldest son was looking forward to going to the state Scholastic Bowl tournament; our youngest son was looking forward to his track season. And Craig and I were looking forward to some much-needed downtime with our family by enjoying the beaches of Gulf Shores.

The fall-out from this pandemic hit each of us in the matters that we cared most for. My older son’s scholastic bowl tournament was canceled, thus ending his eight seasons as a scholastic bowl player. My younger son’s track season is in doubt, and out of precaution, we canceled our spring break trip.

E-learning will be held at the kitchen table, and Craig is working remotely from home. Graduation, prom, and the school drama production are in limbo. As a mother of a senior in high school, I grieve over the fact of what my senior is missing these last few months.

The first few days of our self-containment, I was filled with fear and glued to social media. The “what ifs” overcame the faith I have in the Lord, who is in control of everything.

I knew I needed to make some much-needed changes to 1. Calm my fears and be reminded that God is in control, and 2. To be the best wife and mom that I could be during this time.

Six Things That I Did to Help Me Overcome Fear

I knew I needed to make some changes, so my mental and physical health would not suffer. Here are just six of the things that I did to overcome fear during this uncertain time:

1. I removed the Facebook App from my phone. For the first three days of our self-quarantine, I couldn’t put my phone down. I read as much information that I could, whether it was from experts or not. This was not healthy for me, and it often would begin the onset of a panic attack. I also turned off all notifications for Fox News and our local tv station. I still check both of those sources, but I do it from my computer.
2. I begin and end my day with the Abide app. This is one of the best investments that I have made during this time. Abide is a Christian meditation app. I added it into my morning silence and solitude time and ended my day by listening to the nighttime devotions. I often fall asleep to the soothing voice that is speaking through my headphones.
3. I begin and end my day by reading Scripture. My morning silence and solitude have always included Scripture, but now, I keep a Bible on my bedside table. The Books of Psalm and Proverbs have brought great comfort in this time of uncertainty.
4. Every night is a family fun night. As a family, we end the day together by either playing a game or watching a movie. We are often in four different areas of the house during the day, getting what we need to get done, so coming together at the end of the day makes this mama’s heart happy.
5. Monday through Friday – Structure, Dressed, and Ready to Go. As much as I would love to lay around in my sweats and chill all week, I felt mentally fatigued after the first few days of doing this. I decided to continue to get up early, have my quiet time, shower, get fully dressed, do my hair and makeup, and be sitting at my computer to write by 8:30 am. This has boosted my spirits immensely!
6. When the weather is beautiful, we walk! We may be confined to our homes, but we can still go outside and enjoy the Lord’s creation! The grass is starting to turn green, and the birds’ sound in the mornings reflects that spring is finally here!

How Are You Demonstrating Faith over Fear During this Self-Confinement Time?

While we are all in this together, each of us deals with our faith over fear differently. I would love to hear what you are doing during this time? What activities are you doing with your family? Are you using technology to keep in touch with others? Let me know in the comments below.

I am praying for each one of you during this time of abnormality. God is in control, and we will make it through this time!