I have a confession. For the longest time I struggled with fear. A true, very real FEAR. I would literally keep myself up all night long afraid that things were lurking in the dark of my home.
I wish I could say this was when I was a child. I think it started when I was young, but this fear stayed with me well into my twenties. Whether you think it is irrational or not is irrelevant, it was simply something I could not shake. I would huddle under my blanket to try to go to sleep (no toes showing of course…ever), and pray that I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. I never thought much of it, as I had accepted it as something that was simply a part of who I was. I think when you grow up with something, it becomes second nature to you. It wasn’t until I got married and realized that my husband didn’t struggle with this fear one bit. His head would literally hit the pillow, and he was asleep within 2 second. What the what?!!
It was eye opening when I realized that fear wasn’t something I had to struggle with. And I started talking about it with my husband. It wasn’t until I stumbled across a verse in the bible that I was released from my fear.
I will lay down and sleep in peace, for you alone Oh Lord will keep me safe. – Psalm 4:8
Something about that verse just clicked with me. I wrote it down and put it on my bedside table, and every time fear would start to creep in, I would grab the paper and read it out loud. Sometimes I had to read it 4 or 5 times, until it became a mantra in my head. I did this for months, until one day I realized…the fear was gone. I was sleeping through the night, and not afraid.
That was almost 11 years ago. I still struggle on occasion, but every time I turn to this verse.
Fast forward to children -> Our oldest daughter struggles with fear, and I have been walking through it with her every step of the way for the past 3 years. We tried night lights, flashlights in bed, sleeping in our room, praying, oh…just about everything. And having walked through this battle with her, we are finally on the other side. I took the same verse that helped me those 11 years ago and bought a huge light up chalkboard marquee to write it down. And every time she gets nervous, she can look over in the middle of the night and read that verse out loud.
That is not to say that the verse magically made the fear disappear. Maybe it does for some people, I don’t know. But that verse comforted me in my times of darkness to know that I was not alone. He was, and is, always with me. Here is what I do know, by holding strong to His words of truth, fear will flee. Because when God is with you, nothing can come against you and win.
My son is now entering the battleground of fear, and this fight we too shall win. Together.
If you have a child struggling with fear, please know you are not alone. Many parents have had to face this same battle, and it is a battle you can win. Remember that the words you speak out of your mouth have great power, and start declaring freedom over you and your child’s life from the bonds of fear. The eye mask was my daughter’s idea when she saw that her brother was struggling with the same fear she used to have. It is my hope that by offering this free eye mask sewing pattern to you, it can in some small way help you to overcome.
‘No Fear’ Eye Mask, Psalm 4:8
Eye mask Free Pattern
Skill level: Beginner
Time needed: 30 minutes
MATERIALS:
- Free eye mask sewing pattern, click here to download
- Fat quarter white cotton fabric
- HeatnBond EZ Print Lite (affiliate link)
- 5″ x 9″ of white fleece fabric
- 11″ of 1/4″ or 1/2″ elastic
HOW TO PRINT CUSTOM FABRIC PATTERN:
*Use this step if you want Psalm 4:8 on the front of your eye mask pattern. If not, skip this step and simply print out the free eye mask pattern as you normally would from your desired fabric.
- Using HeatnBond EZ-Print Lite, iron the bumpy side onto the wrong side of your fabric.
- Cut around the bonded fabric, so that you now have a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of fabric.
- Insert bonded fabric into your printer, so that the image will print on the fabric side.
- Print out the pink -or- blue FRONT eye mask pattern, making sure your printer is set to ‘no scale’.
- Cut out the front eye mask pattern, and remove the paper backing.
- Cut out a piece of fleece fabric the same size as your FRONT eye mask pattern.
- Iron the FRONT eye mask pattern directly onto the fleece to secure in place.
HOW TO SEW AN EYE MASK:
- Cut out 1 FRONT, 1 BACK, and 1 FLEECE eye mask pattern as indicated.
- If the fleece is not already attached to the back of your FRONT eye mask pattern, baste stitch fleece to wrong side of FRONT eye mask pattern all around.
- Pin the sides of the elastic to the side edge of your front eye mask pattern. Baste stitch to secure.
- Place front and back right sides together, pin all the way around leaving a 4″ opening along the top edge.
- Sew and trim seam allowance.
- Turn right side out and push out all edges. Press, making sure to fold in the open edges.
- Pin opening closed and sew around to secure.
And you are finished!
Lol – Sampson is a fan.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…
Happy sewing!
Thanks for the verse reference. The only one I could think of was Matthew 11:28.