For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
I
thought I was going to drowned.
Our neighbors pond was nestled in the middle of a
field. As teenagers, I'd get together with my next-door friends, Cheryl, Brant
and Mark, and we'd swim on those hot summer days. One day we played in the
water, as usual, but something wasn't right. I'd swam out from the pond's bank,
and I couldn't get back. I don't know what happened. I may have gotten my foot
caught on something, for whatever reason, I got pulled under and couldn't get
my bearings to stay above the water. The happy ending to the story—Brant
jumped in and pulled me out. Ever since then I've feared putting my head under
the water.
When I swim in the pool with my grandkids, I keep
my head above the water. Because of that fear, I don't really swim. I know how,
but I lost the desire. I love to splash and walk around in the pool, but I am
afraid to go under.Fear is vicious. Once it grabbed me, it wouldn't let go. The sad part is, I fear a fabricated "what if" that MIGHT happen.
This year has been difficult to say the least.
When I went to the doctor's office the other day, I had an overwhelming fear of
touching any surfaces. I've not experienced that until COVID-19. I have a
feeling I'm not the only one. As I sat in the patient room, I asked God to help
me, to calm my nerves and give me peace. And he did.
Instead of living in a state of fear, I want to
live in peace. Instead of fear, I choose to trust the God of the universe, who
cares for me more than I understand. The Bible says love casts out fear. That's
God's love for us. His love pushes fear out the door.
I'm not sure I'll put my head under the water any
time soon, but I know if I do, God is with me. That's comforting.
His love brings peace.
I fear a fabricated "what if" that MIGHT happen. Click to Tweet