I found these for you today. Little yellow love letters. God shouting from the ditch, “I’m here! I made all of this. I love you!”
A friend reached out to me the other day. She struggles with fear from time to time, and she knows I do too, so she just wanted to talk. She wanted to not feel so alone. Isn’t this why we share our struggles and show people our real selves sometimes? Because there are folks out there, wondering if they’re the only ones.
“Do you still feel overcome by fear, Maggie?” She asked it quiet and then paused to listen.
I told her that I still feel afraid for a bit, nearly every day. But, it doesn’t take over anymore. It doesn’t latch on and suck me under, like it used to.
I didn’t have much to give her, but I gave her a few things to help. I want to give them to you, too, because maybe you’re like us and life is brutal. Even your good life knocks you around and you need to know that there are things you can overcome. That you won’t be trapped here forever, under all the weight of the “what-ifs.”
Here’s some things I’ve practiced, that have helped:
Prayer
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I meet about once a week with a couple other friends and we pray for each other. We don’t talk about the weather, we talk about the real grit of our lives. The things we’re actually struggling with and the things we deeply care about. We take those things to Jesus and ask Him for help. We’ve seen so many answers. My moving out of fear, is just one of them.
Meditation
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Also, I dig into God’s Word and I get a really big view of my Maker. We’re often so afraid because we don’t trust God. We think He’s little or too far away or unkind. When I spend time with God, I am captivated by His beauty. By His mind. His goodness. All of these things crowd out my angst.
Beauty-hunting
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The world is harsh. But, not all of the world is harsh. My children’s faces (even their messy faces) bear God’s glory. There are so many things here that echo His generous heart. The world is bathed in His Presence–we just need eyes to see. The grass. The sky. The little mushrooms pushing up beneath the Pines. The tree frog on my window. I don’t have to go very far until I’m in awe of Him again.
Practicing my faith
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I rebuke the spirit of fear. Some of you think this sounds wonky. But, if you are a believer who reads the Scriptures, you’ll find that there is more going on in the world than we can see. There are things that are working against us, an enemy always seeking to destroy us. But, there is this promise, “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.” In invite God’s peace in, because that spirit of fear isn’t from Him. What is from Him? A spirit of power, of love and a sound (tranquil) mind.
Therapy
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In the past, I’ve gone to counseling because life has been too hard for me to deal with on my own. I’ve been healed a lot this way. I have a friend that I still call when I get stuck and she prays with me through my hard things. I’m continually amazed that Jesus wants to heal us. He wants to set us free from our fears so that we can live an abundant kind of life. What would I do without His healing heart?
There are lots of other things that are like therapy for me–making art, getting sleep, eating good food, reaching out to lonely people, working with my hands and just doing the thing right in front of me, prayerfully. Dancing, listening to my favorite music-makers. Playing a prank on someone. All of these things have helped.
I hope something in here will help you too.
Peace to your hearts.
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