Isaiah 30:18-21

 ¹⁸ Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
 ¹⁹ O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.
 ²⁰ Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.
 ²¹ Your ears will hear a word behind you, “^]This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Fear Not...

I have never been a person with a lot of fears or phobias. When I was young, I remember being a fearful child. But as I grew older, and worked through my "stuff", I became less and less fearful. Once I reached my 40's, I really didn't consider myself to be a fearful person.

Then, I turned 50. And all of a sudden I developed all kinds of fears! Fear of severe storms, fear of heights, fear of driving on the interstate, and a fear of dentists! haha I am sure if I thought more about it I could list more fears; but frankly, its getting embarrassing!!

I have watched my beautiful 23 year old daughter battle with an ongoing fear of heights. There are two places that we visit frequently that cause her to tremble as soon as she sees them. One is an overlook at Fort Mountain State Park in Georgia. We hike the trail that leads to the overlook a couple of times a year. Without fail, when we start climbing down the rocky path that leads to the deck, she begins to tell me that she IS NOT going out on the deck. "I'll walk down there, but I'm not going to the edge" she says. And, without fail, I say to her, "The only way to get through a fear like you have is to push yourself through it! If you'll walk out there, eventually you won't be scared! The view is worth it!" The last couple of trips she has actually taken about 3 steps out onto the overlook. This was a monumental time in her life!

The other place that she is terrified of is the glass bridge in downtown Chattanooga. We have made that walk time and time again. The more we walked it, the more fearful she was. But, something very interesting happened last September...

Lindsay was meeting a young man that she was quite smitten with to go downtown for a late night walk. Before she left to meet him she said to me, "I hope he doesn't expect me to walk across that bridge." To which I gave her the same old reply. "You can't get through fear unless you push yourself.....blah blah blah". When she came home that night, she told me about the wonderful walk she'd had. And then she added, "Annddd, I crossed the glass bridge! I told him I was afraid, but he just said to me 'come on! you're doing this!', and I DID IT!" After that night, they crossed that bridge several times together. It was amazing to see the courage she gained as he held her hand and they crossed together!

 So, today I am having to eat my words, and follow my own advice! Tonight I sit here knowing that within the next 3 days, I am going to be faced head on with several of my fears. Severe storms are predicted for tomorrow. My son will be driving to Texas in two days. That's his first long trip away from us, and he'll be doing most of the driving, which puts me face to face with my fear of interstates. And I HAVE to make a dreaded appointment with a dentist. I am pretty sure dental surgery will be the outcome. My heart is racing just typing that one...

 But, I am taking some notes from my own advice and my daughters experience. You see, just as she held on to her boyfriend's hand and began to conquer her fear, I am going to hold on to my Father's hand and face mine. The fear is starting to be worse than any pain that my future could possibly hold! Really, isn't that the way all of our fears are? We are afraid and yet our wonderful Father is always there! Our fears do not change the outcome of life. Just like Lindsay hiking down that path to the overlook, her fear robbed her of enjoying the hike! And my fears will rob me of enjoying my journey with God!

So here goes... "In order to get past my fear, I have to push through it" and today I will add to my advice, "and hold tightly to my wonderful Father's hand!" I know His heart! I can trust Him!

Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your hand, and says to you do not fear; I will help you.
Perfect!
Much love!

Here is the overlook at Fort Mountain State Park! It really does hang off the side of the mountain! But the view is amazing!

And here is the glass bridge in our beautiful city, Chattanooga! It crosses from the Walnut Street Bridge into the art district. What a beautiful city we live in!