Psalm 23:4 says, “Though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me.”  What we are currently walking through with Sydney fighting for her life in the NICU, I would classify as the valley of the shadow of death.  What I find encouraging about this scripture is that is says: Though I walk…  In spite of our recent, unexpected, and traumatic events, it would be so easy to get discouraged but God’s word says, “Do not be afraid” because one of His greatest and most frequent promises is, “I am with you.”

In our church, we have a philosophy that no one fights alone; this coupled with the promise that my God is walking this out right beside me is so comforting during this scary and highly stressful time.  I know that what we are walking through is only temporary and that the Lord is at work as the Great Physician and that He is working in countless other ways I cannot even begin to fathom.  What I can do is have faith that His ways are so much higher than my own and that He has mine and Sydney’s best interest at heart.

Fear has a way of paralyzing us so that we won’t act or when we do, we choose to act poorly, but God has set us up for victory when we trust in Him alone.  Right now, I know that He is giving me the strength I need and He is lining the right people up to help us and Sydney make it through this struggle for her life.

Last night I was having the hardest time sleeping because I kept seeing Sydney hooked up to all the machines and it just made me feel so sad, but then I began to envision all the sweet things I would be able to do with my princess like dancing, tucking her in, teaching her about her heavenly Father and a peace just came over me.  Our God is faithful and every step we take in victory brings us one step closer to the other side.  It is in times like this that we have the opportunity to exhibit our faith in our Savior who is mighty to save.  “Trust God” is easy to say, but actually doing it can be one of the hardest things to actually do.  The amazing thing is that the more we trust and believe in Him, the more He rewards us by pouring His blessings out upon us.  What I find amazing is that the closer I have grown to the Lord, the more I have been able to trust Him in all things.  I’m learning that when things don’t work out the way I would have wanted, there is a greater plan in the future.   In Isaiah 26:3 we read, “God will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him.”  Not only do we have to trust Him, we have to remember that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).