Facing Fears

Do you live in fear?  Do you fear...

Thunderstorms, SPIDERS, the Dark, the Unknown, certain Social Situations, what Other People think of you, Death, getting Sick?

The list could go on and on.  Fear is very real.

I have feared spiders and centipedes for as long as I can remember.  My parents even invested in a "spider zapper" that plugged into an outlet in my bedroom wall as a kid and supposedly sent out some kind of frequency or radio waves to keep those creatures away.  God bless my parents; I love them!  And just the mere thought of a spider's or centipede's creepy legs crawling across my foot is still enough to give me chills.  I smile as I remember that that tiny creature is only a small fraction of my size, but over time, fear has been set inside me.  My fear has grown, but as an adult, I can live with it and even face my fears when I need to.

From one day to the next, a fear can really impact your life.

A couple of years ago, we began receiving prank phone calls.  Directly to our home.  The prankster first called our house just after midnight, waking us from our sleep and totally freaking us out.  The prankster always called and asked for my husband by his first name.  The prankster liked to distort his voice, too, making it all the more eerie.

These prank phone calls continued on-and-off again for several months.  Happening at the most random of times.  Evenings, weekends, mornings.  Sometimes sporadic and other times with calls happening one right after the other.  And each time, the prankster always asked for my husband by name, even if I answered the phone.

Talk about scary.
Talk about fear.

Fear quickly built up inside us.  I found myself keeping an eye out around me.  Becoming extra aware of my surroundings.  And even living in fear.

This was not me.

It was terrible.  In those months of prank phone calls, I experienced living life in fear.  It made me anxious.  It made me edgy.  It made me doubt and question.  It was not how I wanted to live.  And thankfully, after months of fear, one final conversation with the prankster, and a call to our phone company to make some changes to our home phone, the prank calls ended.

But to this day, we have yet to learn who that prank caller was.  Fear is a hard thing to deal with.  With each passing day, sharing about this with friends and family, seeking changes to our phone's plan, and lots of prayer, I was able to lessen this fear and not allow the fear to influence or direct my days.

I am thankful that I don't have to live in fear.  Jesus releases my fears, and I can live instead with trust and hope.  I am protected and loved.  And when struggles and hardships do come along (because I know they will) God is always with me, each step of the way.

Rather than fear - Today, I choose trust.  Will you choose trust with me, too?