No need to be afraid

I came home the other day and saw something that was astonishing. Sitting on the fence posts of my deck were two of the biggest, ugliest birds I had ever seen. They looked like sentries on guard duty. They were like something out of a Stephen King novel. As I got out of my car, they both turned and looked at me, almost as if challenging me to advance on the house. I have to tell you the truth. For a moment I almost decided to get back in the car and drive away. As a fan of horror movies, it was almost to eerily like the things I've seen in the theaters.

Then I came to my senses and I grabbed my camera. They were just too unreal looking for me to ever convince anyone that I actually saw them. Like the great white shark of Jaws fame, these birds were beyond description and too menacing for anyone to believe they existed. Sure enough a I snapped off a few photos, they took flight and disappeared. The moment had passed.

I got to thinking afterwards about the number of scary intrusions that land on our door steps. The unexpected call from the doctor or the panicked cry for help from a family member are good examples of these things. They raise a spectre of fear and the unknown. We've never seen anything like them before. It is easy to turn around and run from them. But more often then not, we are always beter off standing up and facing them.

I have a friend who is facing serious surgery in the coming weeks. It is scary. The temptation is to put it off and hopes the problem goes away. Most of us would like to get in our cars and run from it. The truth is that we are always better off facing our fears and dealing with them head on. Most of the time they are never as bad as we think. Here is the good news. We don't have ot face them alone. God has promised to be there with us as we face them. He'll be there like he was when David faced Goliath. He'll be there like he was when Daniel was thrown into the lion's den. He'll be there like he was Mary and Martha were grieving the loss of their brother. That is what God does. He comes to us in our fear and weakness and he gives us power to overcome.

So what are you afraid of? You've got God on your side and it is that problem that should be worried. Peace. Cal