After The Work

Youth is a time of exploration and testing of our capabilities. One way we are tested are the dares of our peers. Perhaps you were dared to jump off a tall tree branch into the water. Maybe you were dared to ride your bike off the pier on a hot summer day. Older youths may have played “truth or dare”, opting for dare to obtain their first kiss.

May dare others too see whether something is possible before they do it themselves. Other times, someone is dared to try a feat as a prank, an object of ridicule or folly. Whether or not the dare is a good one, dares can go to far and we find the hard way that our choices have consequences. Just try the cinnamon challenge (not really), it is quite unpleasant.

Daring ourselves is a way of getting out of our comfort zone. Dares need not be uncalculated, but a gathering of courage is essential. Jumping out of a plane with a parachute takes preparation and instruction before one confronts their fears.

Thus we arrive at the core of the issue. Fear. Fear has it’s place for survival and can send us into fight, flight, fawn or freeze. Intense fear during a traumatic experience, especially as youth, can leave marks that last a lifetime. Even facing our fears is an act of courage. Sometimes it takes a dare to look closely within ourselves and admit hard truths about ourselves.

We pack all sorts of behaviors around our fears to protect ourselves from dwelling upon them. Time allows us to wind twine around our fears consisting of false beliefs, rationalizations, excuses, and many other tricks of the mind. Putting our pens to the page assist us in unwinding the string to access our fears. Sharing our experiences with others we trust can help expose and process our fear. Truly great hurts and fears are wisely handled with another’s aid, one with experience or sometimes even professional training.

Faith is a great tool to deal with our fears. Faith provides reassurance from God that Our Father has us in his hands as we lay vulnerable and exposed before him. Faith reassures us through such verses as Isaiah 41:10, “fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God”. God helps us know that our fear will not destroy us, that we can move through fear by faith. Feeling the emotion, sometimes in part, sometimes whole, feels terrible.

Sadly, we cannot run from our fears, they will eventually catch up. They linger and lurk in the darkest part of our shadow, moving us to cover them defensively. Let me just tell you right now, it is going to be OK. All is fundamentally well, the God of the Universe has things well in hand even if we feel as if our world is upside down.

Being freed from fear is exhilarating! True freedom is without fear, free to dwell upon love and whom we love. It is as if an anchor stuck in our heart that weighs us down and holds us back is suddenly released. We feel light once again, perhaps even joy. Facing our fears is worth feeling the pain in the present moment that we sought to avoid in the past.

How do we begin? Dare yourself to start. Write down your fears and ask God to help you let them go. Ask God to remove your fears and replace them with faith. Dare yourself to make that appointment with a counselor. Dare to begin, even if it is only one little step. One little step is evidence you want freedom. One little step is actually faith in action that will grow into a wonderful life.

“³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32