Sometimes in our hardest times we find our greatest lessons and our strongest testimonies.

Sunday started off like a normal Sunday. Woke up, fed the baby, showered, I even made blueberry muffins – all before heading to church. We visited a church where the pastor preached on Daniel in the Lion’s den, touching on topics like:

• Daniel was prepared by praying regularly – beforehand. (He didn’t seek the Lord only when he was in trouble.)
• Daniel had made up his mind that he trusted God – beforehand. (He didn’t stop praying just because of a decree.)
• God’s deliverance may not always look like how we imagine it (Daniel was not delivered from the Lion’s Den, but delivered in it)

We left church and headed home. Little did I know we were about to walk into a Lion’s den of our own.

As soon as we got home, I let our dog Copper out of the bathroom where we keep him when we’re out. I noticed ticks all over his new bed (that I had just bought Friday night from the store). I then notice they are crawling all over the bathroom floor, and I continued to find them as I made my way through the house. I’m not talking a few here and there… I’m talking HUNDREDS of ticks everywhere! (We later identified them as the brown dog tick.)

It probably goes without saying that I hate bugs in general, but I tried to keep calm and quickly started mopping them up while my husband gave the dog a bath. My husband then took my step-son home, and I started getting ready to deep clean one room at a time.

I laid baby girl in her cradle in the office where I was going to begin. I started a load of laundry and baby girl got fussier by the moment. Frustrated, I called out over to her, ‘give mommy just a minute.’ She let out a huge SCREAM and turned red.

I rushed over to console her. I picked her up, and she didn’t hold her head up like she usually does. She pushed her arms forward, her head went back, eyes rolled, and she was limp in my arms. My heart stopped.

I started calling out her name and she didn’t respond. I flipped her over and start patting her back in case she was choking, still crying out her name over and over. I turned her back around and her eyes start to slowly come back to focus. I had called my husband and heard the phone ring in the house, so I called my mom. She said it sounded like baby girl had held her breath (just like I used to do).

While waiting for someone to come home, all I could do was cry and pray. I held it together when it came to the bugs, but I lost it when it came to my baby. My mind went back to that morning’s sermon and I wondered, did Daniel cry in the Lion’s den? Was crying a lack of faith? Daniel had faith in the face of adversity, but was he at all scared in the moment of that reality?

My parents got to the house, my husband pulling up right behind them, and I was still pretty upset. They calmed me down and mom watched baby girl, who was back to playing and laughing. I was able to finish cleaning what I could and my husband ran to the store to get everything else we needed.

While moving things to make sure I got every inch of carpet possible, I had apparently gotten the cord under the vacuum. As I resumed sweeping the floor, I saw sparks and the lights went out. I picked up the vacuum and the rubber was completely off a section of the cord, wires were exposed and broken. Seriously!?

I texted my husband to buy a new vacuum while he was out before I blew the whole house up (which wouldn’t be all that bad right about now). He came home with all we needed and told me to take baby girl out and try to relax; he had the rest. He sprayed the house, vacuumed and steam cleaned all the carpeting, AND cooked dinner while I was out.

The next day, I called and left a message for the pediatrician, called the vet, and continued checking on the dog now quarantined to the bathroom. I didn’t see any more ‘live’ ones at first, but soon after, Copper started to scratch and they start falling off him like snow – some still crawling. The next time I looked, I saw a few making their way out of the bathroom again. I was feeling overwhelmed, but thankfully my boss gave me the day and the next off. I started to get myself together and continue project ‘no ticks’… and then I found a bite.

I started to fall apart (again). I fell to my knees and started praying. I told God I knew He only gave us what we could handle, but that I was at my limit. Again reminded of the sermon, I told God the preacher talked about getting prepared for adversity… He only gave me the 15 minutes ride home before throwing me in the Lion’s den! I knew there was power in the prayer of many, and I felt like I needed all the strength I could get, so I sought prayer and help from everyone I could.

I started to feel the prayers right away! My mom came over again to help. We did the remedies and the bite looked to be just a normal bite or scratch. I finally heard back from the Dr.’s office, so we headed out for a check-up. The Dr. agreed that it sounded like she held her breath and started to go unconscious but said to watch in case it happens again.

The next day, I only found a few ticks, and they were dead! I was finally beginning to feel RELIEF. While I certainly have some areas in need of growth, God revealed some of the lessons in all of this:

1. I was prepared. I didn’t just have the 15 minute car ride. I had prayed for baby girl for 3 years before she was even here, and I pray for her to be safe from any and all harm – every single day.
2. I trusted in the power of prayer. While I did let emotions take over, He was where I turned to.
3. When I wondered why these things were happening, when I pray every day for protection on our property, home, and all inside – His deliverance was not as I imagined, but it was there. While all of these things happened in our home, we were still protected.
4. It’s ok to cry. Even Jesus cried when Lazarus died, and began to sweat blood knowing the cross was coming. We’ll have natural reactions… we should counter with spiritual reactions.
5. I have an amazing husband.
6. I have a wonderful support group of family, friends, and church. I received text of love and calls of encouragement. People prayed with me over the phone and offered helping hands. A friend even brought us dinner (Chick-fil-a of course!)
7. Last, but not least, if you ever buy a cheap $5 dog bed, wash and dry it first.