So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"
(Hebrews 13:6, NIV)

This has been a week of confronting and conquering fears, here at Casa Stro. Awhile back I mentioned that my kids would be swimming this summer as a tribute to their birth mom. I also mentioned that my biological child does not like water. In fact, he's terrified of the pool.

Monday was Day One of swim class. The youngest two merrily clambered off with their instructors. My oldest was rooted to the spot. He finally sat at the side of the pool with feet dangling in, and eventually made the transition to half standing in the water, holding onto the side for dear life.

To his credit, he did try to do most of the things the instructor asked, however, he clung to her like white on rice. Eventually, he became so frustrated and scared that he began to cry and wanted out of the pool and out of the class. However, upon reflection, he decided to give it another try.

Day Two went much better. He finally put most of his head in the water, something he refused to do in previous attempts at swim lessons. He then freaked out, and got out of the water a few minutes before class was over. Somehow, it occurred to him that he had really conquered his biggest fear. He realized that once he put his head under the water (and the reality of it was far less than he had built it up to be!), that was the biggest deal and he was free to enjoy the rest of what the class had to offer. All this was in retrospect after class was over.

So, he really looked forward to today with great enthusiasm. He got right into the pool, was able to walk in the shallow end of the pool (3.5 feet) without holding onto the wall. He was even able to kick his feet behind him when the teacher held on to him in a mock dog-paddle!

The outcome is he now loves swim class. I mean, this kid is head-over-heels in love with being in the pool! He cannot wait until tomorrow. He wants to stay in the swim class, not just for this two-week session, but for all the other sessions the kids are enrolled in!

His example helped me to face a fear also. Last week I had a routine mammogram. They called yesterday to say that more screenings were needed for a suspicious finding. Few words are scarier to a woman's ears! I immediately sent out a prayer request to all my sisters at church. It was too late in the day to return the call left on my answering machine, so I called first thing this morning. God, as usual, was already on the job! When I called at 8:14am, there had been a last minute cancellation, and they wanted to know if I could be there at 9:00am, otherwise they couldn't see me until July 22nd. Hmmm, high-tail it over there, or wait over a month in agonizing suspense? Naturally, I hauled butt and got there!

As with our adoption story, it was clear God was paving the path for me, and leaving little clues He was there and handling it. I began talking to the sonographer, who also has three children. I found out she had been adopted as a child!

Then, the doctor came in to discuss the results right away, putting not necessarily a period to things, but a semi-colon's worth of answers, at least! She thought it was most likely a fibroadenoma, but because she couldn't feel it completely, she couldn't tell. She scheduled a biopsy just to be sure, and it will be in just a few days. They put a marker, so that if there is an issue, they know where to remove it. If it turns out to be nothing, the marker is there for future mammograms to let the radiology staff know it's been evaluated and there won't be any alarms raised.

All this has taught me to rely on God, trust Him completely, and as with my son, conquer the fear, knowing that whatever happens, God truly is my helper, and nothing changes that.

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