Thursday, March 12, 2009

When It Is True

For a lot of people, the most vivid memories are those that are associated with fear, times we were afraid, and often, times when those fears were unfounded. Part of what keeps us secure in life is knowing that there are means in place to protect us.

I remember, numerous times, finding sites or Blogs that asked what my greatest fears are. If I were asked at this moment, the answers would be the same; but those would be different than the ones I'd have given when I was 5 or 10 or 15 years old. At those ages, maybe it was monsters or bogeymen, evil things in the closet.

As intense as those fears were, maturity and experience teach us that those are completely unfounded. And if they aren't, they are at least things we can control or fight back against.

I have found that the worst fears I can imagine are those I have no control over, but that can, and do, have enormous effects on my life and of those I love. Fear of flying? Get on a plane. Fear of intimacy? Get into a satisfying relationship. But when I think about that plane crash in Buffalo, NY a few weeks back, I realize that fears aren't always about things we can control or battle against.

What does one do when one looks at that list of fears, and realizes that they have all begun to come true? And that quite a few are things that one can not actually do anything about, no matter how determined one is?

5 comments:

  1. Well, for one thing...you look at the statistics about plane crashes and car crashes. It blows my mind how many people die in car crashes every year, and yet when a plane goes down and hundreds are killed people become terrified to fly. We should be terrified to drive!
    As far as other things Jimmy...I figure, if it's my time to go, I'm gonna be going regardless of what I do...so I just try to live my life one day at a time, and always make sure that the ones I love know it.
    Lovish! Precious man!
    Connie

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  2. It is only the realization that is new. There is only one in control and He knows our hopes and dreams as well as our fears. All we can do it trust in Him. ;)
    lyb!!
    xx

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  3. I read "The Hiding Place" last summer and although it's a story about a safe house during the holocaust, what I loved most about the book was the wisdom of the author's father. The author remembers being very afraid one day and her father looked down at her and said something to the effect of, "Corrie, when we ride on the train, when do I give you your ticket?" and she answered that he handed it to her right before she stepped onto the train. He told her that's how God works too. He doesn't give us the strength or the ability to handle our trials until literally the moment we are stepping into them.

    In my experience that is true, what we most fear, we are often amazed to find ourselves doing anyway, but for me this lesson is most poignant when told by people who have lived through the worst of the worst and are still here to witness that this is indeed how God works. The Hiding Place and (my favorite) Left to Tell are two of the most uplifting inspirational true stories about being given that ticket when and only when you are actually stepping into the train. I've found it very hard to doubt in the face of those two stories.

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  4. My greatest fear (drowning) has stayed pretty consistent throughout the years. While I'm not afraid to be in a boat, I'm afraid to learn how to swim. What a pickle, eh?

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  5. Sure, risk is real, and bad things can happen. Many people get by for years without anxiety due to the belief that they are invulnerable.

    The average age of onset of fear of flying is 27. It takes that long for many to have their bubble of invulnerability burst. When they realize they face real risks, they may not be ready to deal with that.

    Take a look at the articles in the SOAR Library at www.fearofflying.com/wordpress/

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