I have been thinking lately how much we live in fear. We fear for our jobs. We fear that we will lose our homes. We fear that we will fail our children. We fear to be weak, vulnerable. We accept this fear. It can become so much a part of who we are that we no longer question it. It guides our actions and attitudes even if it destroys our relationships. It makes us feel safe.
I just spoke with a woman (who I quite like) who was afraid to have more than one child. She was regretting that her daughter grew up lonely as an only child. I went to university with somebody who was afraid to even attempt to get into graduate school. He didn't want to be rejected. (He would have been a much better scholar than me.) He now regrets his decision. A grandmother once told me that when her own children were small she wished their childhood away. She admitted that she was worried about what other people thought of her and felt like a failure. Again, great regret.
We have so many fears in our lives. They are even valid. But they cannot be allowed to define who we are.
Fear, failure, wounds - they are all a part of our story. They are not the main character. If we want to see how our story end then look at Jesus' story: redemption, transcendence, love, acceptance, forgiveness. This is the core of our being because, whether we admit it or not, Jesus is the core of our being.
Just a thought. Think about it.
1 comment:
I feel as though I spend much of my life dwelling in a house made of fear. The ominous "What if" worse case scenarios of soap operas and tragic lives can dominate my thoughts if I allow them.
Years ago I read a well known sel-help book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway". Part of the book's premise that I remember was that even if your worst fear are realized, trust that you will find the strength within yourself to deal with it. From a Christian perspective, we could add to that process to trust that with God's help, we will find the strength to deal with it. Then let go of the fear or accept it and live a wild and precious life despite it.
It is time for me to renovate my house of fear. To replace the darkened rooms of negativity with bright light places filled with fierce joy and faith. In the larger scheme of things, my life has been filled with so very many blessings, starting with me being born into a land of peace and prosperity and a loving family. Writing this while sitting up in bed with an infant snuggled in my lap and my partner asleep beside me, I have yet more reasons to count my many blessings.
It is time to fling open the window shades and punch more holes in the walls and even tear down the walls themselves and let the light stream in.
Thanks be to God.
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