What frightens you?  Is it spiders or snakes or high places? Maybe you are afraid of success or taking chances of stepping out of your comfort zone. We all have those derp-rooted insecurities that make us fear certain things and situations..

I was always afraid of public speaking.  My knees would knock,  butterflies would take up residence in my stomach and my palms were sweaty. I really thought my heart would pound out of my chest.

To try and overcome this unreasonable fear, I signed up to speak about the environment and recycling with a Go Green campaign in Indianapolis.  The first time I found myself in front of a group of people, I nearly had a meltdown. I kept remembering God’s word to me, “Never will I leave or forsake you”. That got me through my bout of fear. Now I can’t say I don’t still get butterflies and knocking knees, but with God holding me up, my fear becomes manageable.

     When the storm blew in and rocked the boat for the disciples, Jesus asked them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” When we put our trust and faith in God, it shines a light on the scary things of this world. As children we feared monsters under the bed. Our parents left a light on to brighten the darkness where the scary things live.  Let God be your shining light today and help you overcome your fears.

.

We’ve all heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  It sounds so easy doesn’t it?  Have you ever wondered why  some people seem to be able to bounce back no matter how hard circumstances are while others seem to get stuck in a rut?

In 2000, when I was caring for my husband who was dying of cancer, I remember one morning very vividly. I awoke after another night of only a couple hours of sleep, tired physically and emotionally. I remember thinking. I can’t do this,  I am not strong enough to face another day.

Two things happened that morning. The first was, I looked around and there was no one else to do what needed to be done. The second was, God’s gentle whisper in my ear the words from Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” I think we all need to realize we don’t have super powers. There are times we need to reach out for help.

For me, this is the strength I derive  from my Creator and the understanding that I am not in this alone.  It takes a certain amount of self determination to keep going when we want to quit. But, isn’t it nice to know that God is only a prayer away?

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton