Freedom on the 4th

Levi has struggled with fear all his life!
Since moving to NC three years ago, Levi has been scared to death of Thunderstorms and we get some absolutely amazing thunderstorms. Growing up in England, Levi had never experienced a thunderstorm. When the weather is gloomy, Levi used to check the weather forecast hourly! When a storm rolled in, Levi would get his PJ's on, jump in my lap, plug his ears and go to sleep no matter what time of the day it was!
Levi has always been deathly afraid of dogs! He says "I am phobic of dogs which means I have an irrational fear of them". We talk about how it is irrational and yet he is still scared.
On New Years Day we started praying that this would be the year that the Lord would give Levi freedom from his fears. In the last 6 months Levi has grown by leaps and bounds and is doing so much better with dogs and he does amazing during thunderstorms. He still sits REALLY close to me but I am OK with that!
Well, over 4th of July weekend Levi tackled more of his fears! Our friends live on a pond and for 2 summers now, Levi has watched his brothers jump in the pond but he was too afraid to even climb down the ladder to get in the pond. On Sunday Levi woke up and said "I AM jumping off the dock and into the pond today!!" I encouraged him to do it but I didn't think he would. He asked me to pray that God would give him freedom from his fears so that is what we did. And within minutes Levi was JUMPING in the pond!! I SO wish I could have seen his facial expression!! He jumped and jumped and jumped the rest of the day!

The Jump

The JOY!!!

On Monday, the 4th, we went to the pool. All summer Levi has wanted to take the swim test so he could jump off the diving board. He practised and practised and I honestly didn't think he could pass the test. The lifeguard told him that she had been watching him and she was certain he was ready! That gave him the boost of confidence he needed. He swam across the pool and back and then had to tread water for 1 minute. The final part of the test was to jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder! Levi got right up on the diving board and didn't even hesitate to jump!! I was overwhelmed with joy for my littlest man!! Levi spent the rest of the day jumping off the board!
As I sat and watched him, I was telling the Lord that I am so in awe that he loves Levi so much that he is willing to give him Freedom on the 4th!! Freedom to Worship Him, freedom to live a life happy, freedom to pursue his desires and today the greatest gift was to have FREEDOM from his FEARS!! Levi feels like he can conquer the world now! Thank you Jesus!

The swim...

Treading water

Preparing to jump...

Letting loose!!