By +Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
My Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—FEAR. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess, Kate Motaung’s site. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!
***Confession: I thought I set my timer, but apparently, I forgot to push START. So, this post went a wee bit over five minutes.
FEAR
A number of years ago, hubby and I visited Zion National Park to celebrate our anniversary. We hiked and savored God’s beauty surrounding us. We walked on a narrow trail up, up, up, where the only thing to hold onto was a chain embedded into a rock wall. The trail was, maybe, three feet across. Did that strike fear into my closet-adventurer’s heart? Not really.
What left me trembling was what came after that. We hiked along a hidden path that led between trees blossoming in spring. The faint buzzing over our heads didn’t bother me at first . . .
. . . until I saw the trees were in bloom,
. . . and bees doing what they do best—pollinating. Hundreds of them. Around us, mostly above us.
I got hungry and pulled out an apple. Yeah, I’m not sure what I was thinking.
As I ate, and the sweet juices flowed, then the bees became interested in me.
That’s when I trembled from the inside out.
Both of my sisters are anaphylactically ( think I just made up a word) allergic to bee stings. What are the chances that I am?
The fear of the possibility of being stung overcame any desire to be an adventurer. All desire to explore God’s nature. I’d had enough.
Isn’t life like that sometimes? We are walking our path, and a bee of uncertainty buzzes around us. We may not notice its presence at first, but something triggers an awareness.
Something awakens that fear within us.
Most often, it’s the unknown that kindles fear to flame within my thoughts and heart.
When I focus on what could happen, rather than Who is surrounding me, fear has its way, leaving me a shivering, shaking mess.
When those bees come around that try to cause us to fear, we need to focus on the Lord. We may end up having to face those things we fear the most. The best thing is, we don’t ever face them alone.
God’s sovereign, and He walks with us. He knows what we need to be craft us into the image of Jesus.
He never forces us to walk alone through those fearful times. When we lean into Him trusting Him, then we can know peace. Peace helps us walk with confidence rather than with shivering fear from the “What if?” question.
I don’t always succeed in trusting Him with the unknowns, but I’m learning to, step by step, and with lots of practice.
What about you? What is one fear you’ve struggled with? What helps you to overcome fearful situations?
Be sure to visit Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday post—Fear
