Fear

My writings for our MOPS newsletter on the theme day of the haunted house (remember...this year's theme is Adventures in Motherhood, Mothering...something like that!)

My firstborn was yet unborn when I discovered that a close friend – who was probably about 30 – had just learned to swim. Big deal, you might think. Except to her, it was.
She is the most fearful person I’ve ever known. In fact, I couldn’t comprehend why anyone would fear crowds so intensely that she had never been able to enjoy a professional sporting event for that reason. She is also terrified of heights, elevators, storms, spiders, dogs, strangers and the list goes on. But water frightened her more than anything, and yet when her son turned 5, she signed them both up for swimming lessons.
Later, she and her husband let him pick out a dog – a big one, even. I know that my friend was really stretching beyond her comfort zone. I think we all do it, sometimes not by choice, as parents.
Abby knows no stranger, and so my bubbly then 2-year-old forced me out of my shell. I’ll never be the extrovert she is, but she’s nudging me along nicely.
Because I love my children and want them to see the world with fresh new eyes, I try very hard not to influence them with my own fears. I bet neither of them knows that the sight of a snake makes my heart race and my palms sweat. They can fear snakes on their own, but hopefully not by my design. Who knows – what if one of my kids holds the key to medicinal cures for poisonous snakebites, and I rob them of the opportunity to better the world because of my fear? OK…far fetched, but you get the point.
Even my husband, who’s admittedly VERY freaked out by spiders, isn’t letting on. In fact, Abby has a very interesting and rather large spider living in her window. We’ve studied it all summer, its habits and life – both online and through observations and of course, photos.
It kind of has me wondering – why do we fear? What did God have in mind when he designed this emotion? I’m not entirely sure what the opposite of fear is, but I would suspect it has traits of faith – confidence, peace and purpose. Fear must be a lot like hate. If we didn’t know and experience these negative emotions, then how could we possibly understand and appreciate the depths of their opposites. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in a life without all the fruits of the spirit.
Besides, God is the solution to fear in Joshua 1:9 What a comfort and joy to know that with God, I can face all my fears. When we have those lump-in-the-back-of-the-throat, stomach grinding fears all parents get, we can always seek Him for a dose of peace. It is so amazing to me the “peace that passes all understanding” when we simply go to Him in prayer with all our worries. Yes, God helps us overcome fear!