No more fear. This year, faith is taking center stage.
I have finally learned, internalized really, that the two are exclusive opposites of each other and that I cannot feed my fears while claiming to have faith.
I certainly cannot enjoy the blessings and fruits of a faith tree well tended while chopping at its base with the blunt edge of worry.
I cannot wring my hands and squeeze my eyebrows together in pursuit of those terrible “what ifs” while smiling wildly and raising my arms in praise of the answers and celebration of grace already given.
This flip side relationships between the two is so obvious to me now, it’s a wonder that all these years previous have yielded me any answers or any peace at all. Because fear and worrying have come so naturally to me. But they can be trained out.
Were you here at the digital W when I had that slightly mystical Worry Door experience? It was August 2012. And it was intense.
http://lazywmarie.com/closing-the-door-to-worry/ This was the original post. A vivid sight and powerful message for me.
Well, that door has crept opened and been slammed shut too many times since then, and it all has been a beautiful learning curve for me, one for which I am so grateful. The times over these past seventeen months or so that I have succumbed to that weird temptation to peek behind the Worry Door and examine the shadows, pet the darkness and soak in the ick, have yielded me confusion, bitterness, a sense of defeat and exhaustion, and plain inactivity. I have been easily paralyzed in my beautiful life just by gazing at what I thought I should be worrying about. Big things by the way, important things. Things of the heart and building blocks to life and well-being. Still, I knew better. Worry is not the answer.
On the other hand, miraculously, those times over these past seventeen months or so that I have consciously turned away from the Worry Door and rejected fear, have yielded incredible peace and joy. More than emotions, though, my life has seen very real changes when I have acted on faith instead of acting on fear. God responds to our faith expressed, and He wants us to trust Him with everything. Have no fear. He invites us to enjoy confidence, deep in our bellies and bones, that He hears every whispered prayer and every groaning, and He loves us and is able to help.
How will my days be different without fear?
- More reaching out to loved ones, especially my girls, without fear of rejection or confrontation.
- Interesting, life affirming new experiences without fear of looking silly or failing. (I went for several city runs this past week, a brand new experience for me, and it was amazing! That first one was fearful, but I am SO GLAD I got past that! LOL)
- Deeper involvement with our church without fear of not fitting in or disagreeing.
- A renewed effort with beekeeping and horse training without fear, once again, of failure.
- A calmer, more relaxed marriage without fear of Handsome finding someone else more… everything.
- Finishing a written work, like a novel, without fear of criticism or forgettability.
- Running a marathon without fear of running a marathon.
And so many other things are possible, too. Maybe this sounds like a broken record to those of you who have been reading along with me these past couple of years; but clearly it’s a lesson aimed straight at my heart:
Do Not Be Afraid
Marinate in Love so deeply that you ooze it. Receive your promises and act on faith. Be confident and steady, not fearful. When you recognize that you are torn between the two, choose wisely and start celebrating the answers ahead of time!
What might be different in your life if you abandoned fear? What possibilities would be unlocked?
You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.
~Mary Manin Morrissey
XOXOXOXO
I am linking up this week with some of my favorite bloggers
to share our “un-words” of 2014.
My un-word is fear.
Check out the other pieces written by Edie, Darlene, and more!
http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/
“Handsome” could never find anyone “more” anything in this world or any other.
Now go write that best seller!
I just want you to have every good thing in this world. xo
Very inspiring. I read a piece by a writer once saying his goal was not to be “good”, but to be brave. That’s helped a lot. Another one that rattles around in my head is Neil Gaiman’s simple advice to “Trust your story”. It’s from a children’s book called Instructions, and for me it’s a very powerful piece.
Ooooh, I like that. “Good” implies judgement, but “brave” demands action, profit even. I like that so much. It’s actionable advice.
And you’ve told me so much recently… to be brave in my writing. And it has helped a lot!
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Brittany! xoxo
Perfect. I believe you and i are on the same wavelength lately. I have been thinking a lot lately about the simple instruction: fear not. Thank you fire sharing this part of your journey with us. xo
*for, not fire. I should not use my phone to comment!
haha! I meant what you knew. xoxo
I think so too, Suzanne! Have thought that a bunch this year, actually. And yu’re a lovely person with whom I can share ANY wavelength. [:))] It’s a calming thought, fear not. And a worthy mantra. We tell our kids this, right? Just breathe. Relax. Trust. Things tend to work out in amazing ways.
Thanks for reading!! xoxo
I love your beautiful description of how your days would look without fear! So compelling and filled with anticipation …
Go for it!
;-}
Linda, thank you SO MUCH. For reading and for the encouragement! I greatly prefer living out my days in faith rather than fear. xo
I clicked over from The Nester. I so appreciate your word pictures. The tree, the door, marinating in love…what beautiful words to use. Thanks for sharing. –Blessings!
Melanie, thanks very much! It’s been a meaningful journey for me. And it keeps getting better. Thanks for visiting! xoxo
Hey Lazy W! I loved this post! This will be a year that requires fearless decisions for us too! Thank you for sharing your heart!
Thank you Della! Wishing you all the best this year. Faith can move mountains, I have no doubt. xoxo How exciting.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and commenting today!
I love everything you said above. Very powerful! I also like how you gave us lots of resources for when fear tries to rear its ugly head.
Knowing that you have picked the same unword as I did, I am going to pray for you when I feel afraid this year.
Elizabeth I am so very happy to “meet” you this week! I can tell already we’re going to be friends. I appreciate your prayers and will return the favor. Happy, fearless New Year to you! xoxo
beautiful beautiful beautiful!!! I am finding it so therapeutic that this little Unword idea that I came up with is revealing something awesome: that we all struggle with the same battles. And they don’t necessarily go away, but the closer we get to Him, the more they fade.
GORGEOUS post!
Agreed, sweet Darlene! So many universal struggles, and so much shared strength and wisdom among thinking, feeling women. I LOVE this project and appreciate you opening it up to everyone.
And yes, the closer we get to Him, the lighter the load for sure.
Happy guiltless New Year! SO much love to you from Oklahoma.
xoxo
I read this post last night and then started sifting through my prayer journal for the past 2 years. The constant theme is worry, anxiety, a desire for a stronger faith. When I looked over my worries from two years ago and on I noticed that God literally took care of each one, in His own timing, and in a better way than I could have thought up ever on my own. So WHY do I continue to worry? Why can’t I completely give the Lord my trust and let go of everything I constantly obsess over? He has been faithful to me time and time again. He has ALWAYS been with me. I am frustrated with my lack of faith and constant fear. I want to find that freedom and peace and joy that I know He wants me to experience. Thank you so much for this post. It shows me that many other women of faith deal with the same issue and that it is possible to break free from the cycle. For me I think it may have to be a daily choice I make a thousand times, to choose faith and trust over fear and anxiety.
Brittney, thank you so much for sharing this. It’s amazing how we all seem to need so many cycles of learning to finally “get it.” You’re not alone in that. I really do feel like a broken record sometimes, telling myself the same things over and over, but it’s because I am receiving the same messages over and over. So I must need to hear them.
And how beautiful that you kept a journal so you can see in ink how faithful God is to answer your prayers. What a treasure you have built for yourself!
Really appreciate you visiting, happy New Year to you! xoxo
That’s an awesome un-word Marie! And one that I’m sure is the root of many of the other un-words out there. I haven’t linked up, but have thought about it a lot since I first heard about it. My un-word for the year is “waste” and it goes so well with my other word (“focus”) even though I never intended it to.
Thank you so much, Carin! [:))]
Great thought, that fear could block so many other goals and that faith can set them on fire. Yes.
Love your word focus and your Un-word waste, too. As an artist, those will serve you so well.
Happy new year friend! xoxo
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I
stumbleupon on a daily basis. It’s always useful to read through articles from other writers and use a little something
from their websites.