Sound Mind

1Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I memorized this as a highschooler. Its been in my heart, but I've never fully understood and clung to it as I have lately.

This is what I am continuing to meditate on since Luke's near drowning last weekend. Here are some of my thoughts.

We cannot live in fear because of this incident. We are still going to go swimming this summer. But with this SOUNDER mind, we are going to be far more careful around the pool. We've already gotten Luke and Hattie Ruth good swimming life vests. We got Silas a life vest too, although he knows how to swim now. And for Millie Grace, we got her one of those double ringed floating things.

We are going to change some things within our family. We are going to all learn how to be aware of the others. How to watch out and take care of the other family members, especially in group settings.

There are other areas where we have not been very careful and consistent, like in the parking lot. We will hold hands everytime now. We will NOT open the car door until another adult says its ok.

But God doesn't want us to live in fear. We can't stay holed up in our house all summer long. We can still be the fun-loving Jennings family. We are just going to implement some new changes and rules.

I also want to address something else. I believe with all of my heart that God has a plan for Luke Simon Jennings. He gave Luke to us TWICE now. I don't want to ever forget. I want to always remind him of this and pray this for him. Pray that he will be used by God. That the "voice that God gave me back" (his exact words) would be used to tell others what God has done. This is firm in my heart.

HOWEVER, I also believe that God has a plan for Silas, Hattie Ruth, and Millie Grace. I believe he has a plan for our family to be used by Him. I believe this about my mentally handicapped sister Joy. I believe this about every person. Jeremiah 29:11 says,"I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plan to prosper you and NOT to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." God loves each one of us. He has a plan for us all. Even those who don't know it yet. (I'm thinking of 2 people in particular who I don't believe know that God TRULY has a wonderful plan for their lives! I'm praying that we will be able to share this with them because of Luke's accident).

I'm holding each of my babies a little closer a little longer. I'm laughing with them more and trying to not be so grouchy when spills happen and messes take over the entry way. I'm praying harder for some families that I know that are going through some difficult days regarding their children. And I am continuing to "sing songs of Joy" like the Psalmist mentioned in my previous post because of what the Lord has done for us!