Kick It In the Shins!

FEAR.  That word has been tumbling around in my head for days.  I just can't shake it...so I'm going to delve into it. 

Fear is a huge motivator - sometimes good and sometimes bad.  Good, healthy fear keeps us from jumping rope on the edge of a cliff or eating glass!  Good fear shows our respect for our God, our elders, our leaders.  But bad fear wreaks havoc.  It lies and manipulates us into thinking we are less than we are.  It backs us into a corner and holds us captive.  Unfortunately, it has become a major factor in society today.  Think of how many things we do and don't do that are motivated by fear.  We've become "helicopter parents", afraid to let our kids explore, learn and test the world around them.  Fear seeps into the decisions we make about what we eat, drive, buy, where we go, what we do, even our major political parties have figured out that the best way to win is to strike fear into the hearts of the constituency!  Too often we are afraid to be real, open, honest and to allow people to see us for who we really are. 

Be honest, how much of what you do is motivated by fear?  More importantly, how much of what you DON'T do?  Too many times we shrink back because we fear that we aren't smart enough, strong enough, educated enough, pretty enough, talented enough, we aren't worthy of living out the dreams that God placed in our hearts.  I don't know about you, but I have some pretty big dreams buried deep inside!  They scare me!  How in the world could I ever accomplish those things?  I'm just a little stay-at-home Mom who barely went to college, I don't have a big career, I don't have a bunch of money, I'm not perfect!  You know what?  It's time to let the fear go.  It's time to give fear a swift kick in the shins and flee from it!

It's time to leave fear behind and run after your dreams, your visions, your heart!  Sometimes it starts out really small, taking one baby step at a time.  That's where I am.  Giving my fear to God, walking forward in obedience and taking tiny steps towards becoming the wife, mother, servant, woman of God that I can see standing at the end of the road smiling at me telling me to just keep walking forward in faith, in confidence and without fear.