Letting Fear Define You...

So this is some kind of record for posting (2 days in a row!), but I can't help it when inspiration hits... not to mention I've been sick and home quite a bit lately so what else am I gonna do?

I don't watch much afternoon television. We don't get many channels and most of the time, those few channels aren't showing what I consider to be entertainment. Today, however, I was just letting it run... and Dr. Phil came on. The preview caught my attention, so I watched a bit of it (it was a re-run).

The first bit was about a woman who lives in constant fear when at home that someone will break into her house and harm her. It wasn't quite so bad until her husband got a job that required him to be gone for a few weeks at a time. Since that time, as he stated on the show, he's spent over $16,000 on all kinds of things in hopes of making her "feel safe". The worst is when she showers. Let me set this up for you... every time she showers she:

*Locks and puts door jams on her bedroom door and bathroom door

*She has 2 Dobermans sitting outside her bathroom door

*She sets an alarm inside of her bathroom

*She pulls out a .38 handgun as well as a stun-gun and places them on the toilet along with a remote panic button (to call the police), a flashlight, and her cell phone

*Only uses a clear shower curtain so she can see the door at all times in case someone starts coming through

I might've forgotten something, but you get the idea. This poor woman couldn't even explain why she was so afraid, except for several scary movies she watched as a child (and no, she never watched "Psycho"). When she was 11 she thought she heard someone breaking into her house, but nothing ever happened. Ever since then, she's been absolutely petrified of being at home alone.

I do not ever want to make light of peoples' fears. Fear is a very real and serious thing... sometimes, even a healthy thing. What I hate to see is when people let fear control their lives (or the lives of the ones around them). We all do it in one way or another.

Ever since I was little (and, unfortunately, even today) I've had to talk myself into "taking care" of this thing or that thing that I was afraid of. I remember telling myself how "silly" I was being for getting so riled up... this was to calm myself down enough to actually take care of whatever it was. This could be anything from being at home alone to killing spiders or snakes to walking in the dark.

But what I've found the most comforting is this: God is in control. While we all know that sometimes, He does allow things to happen, He is still God and He is still good. I choose to trust He will take care of me (using John to do it so much of the time). I will not let myself be controlled by fear if I can help it. "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." - 2 Tim. 1:7

Sometimes, there isn't another person we can turn to when faced with something we sincerely fear. If we choose God every time, asking Him to give us the courage to step out and face that fear (our giant or Goliath, so to speak)... I believe He will give us the strength and the common sense to deal with that fear. And then... each time... the fear will lessen a little more.

The first few years of being with John (dating and married), I had some serious issues about going to his dad's dock at night. During the day, no problem! At night... there are spiders EVERYWHERE!!! I really don't like spiders. They give me the hebejebees. His mom was awesome about my fear... mostly cause she didn't like them either AND because she was just awesome like that. She didn't ever make me feel like I was being silly or anything, but helped me keep away from them all the same. Instead of stamping my foot like a child and telling John I'm never going down there (because of snakes OR spiders... two things I do fear), I've gone, year after year... day and night. And you know what? Instead of it being a place I don't want to be (because of fear), I love it there! I can be around the spiders and let them live. I can know there are probably snakes around and be at peace (well, to an extent). But my point is that I wouldn't be at that point now, had I not taken steps, year after year, to get there.

What We Have vs. What We Need

One thing I constantly see today (in my own life as well as in the lives of others) is our never-ceasing desire to "have" things. If you just bought the latest phone, another one is already on its way out that's "even better" that you "just have to have". Think about it. How much did you pay for your most recent phone? And why did you pay that much? What kinds of features does it have that you just can't seem to live without?

I was watching an old movie yesterday and one of the things that really struck me was the telephone. It was a movie set in the late 1800's or early 1900's... so one of those "Gwen" movies that has lots of pretty dresses, cheesy lines, and that wonderful warm-fuzzy, feel-good type of show. The movie is about the happenings in a big family over the course of a year (ups and downs and all... but since it's a feel-good musical, it's mostly ups). In one particular scene, most of the family (except for the uninformed father) tries to rush through their supper because the eldest daughter is supposed to receive a long-distance telephone call (from a young man) at a certain time. The telephone is in the dining room and the family hopes he will propose, so they want to give her some privacy. It all makes for a fun and enjoyable sequence, but it really got me to thinking.

I remember when we only had a telephone in the dining room/kitchen area. I remember when we got to add one to our bedrooms as teenagers (and that was a treat, let me tell you!), probably mostly because our parents got tired of hearing us talk about nothing for hours on end. I remember the first time I saw a "car phone", my cousin had one and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I remember watching "Saved By the Bell" and seeing Zach Morris get into trouble for talking on a cell phone (that didn't quite fit in a back pocket as easily as it does now).

Now, cell phones are everywhere. I carry mine with me at all times (unless I happen to forget it). Even when I visited a third-world country in Southeast Asia a few years ago, it didn't matter how poor those people were, most of them still had a cell phone! People like to stay connected with each other... and there's nothing wrong with that! But what do we really know to appreciate anymore? Everything is run by technology of some kind.

Here in the U.S. we thrive... we have grocery stores, restaurants, cars, electricity, airports, Apps on our phones to find whatever we can't... but what would we do if it was all taken away. Nature alone has proven over and over in the last several years, that it can take away our luxuries in only a moment. But with so much happening around our globe, I know that nature is not our only threat.

One place I've visited in my travels was a country (now third-world) that was "up-to-date", so to speak, with the rest of the world (technologically, economically, etc.) until the late 1970's. When they were invaded and taken over by another country, it set them back 50 years. That finally got handled, but then the already crippled country got taken over again, setting them back another 50 years. Now, there is a massive lack of education (most of the people don't even know there is such a thing as an ocean), streets are literally covered in human waste, and only the wealthy have direct access to such things as water, electricity (brought up by generators), and, if they're lucky, air-conditioning.

I know the U.S. is much bigger and in a better location that this other country, but are we really so prideful as to believe that NOTHING can happen to us? Technology has been a friend to us thus far, yes, but we've seen enough movies (yes, I said it, movies) to know that it REALLY CAN be taken away, whether by nature or by other people. Then what? Just think about it... IF electricity alone were completely knocked out for weeks or months on end, what would we do? Pretty much everything is digital now-a-days so:
Could we buy gas? Could we buy groceries? Could we get to any money at the bank? How would we feed our families? If it's winter, how would we keep warm? Would you still have a way to contact loved ones (since your cell phone won't work anymore)? What if our possibility for electricity restoration was a year or two away? Could we grow and make our own food like people used to, without the help of the internet to tell us how?

I know this may sound like I'm on a rant against technology, but TRUST ME, I'm not. I'll appreciate and take advantage of it as much as I can!!! It's just something I've been thinking about. Going back to the movie I mentioned earlier: One thing I love about that particular type of movie is that it has one of those "It doesn't matter what happens as long as we're together," lessons to it. That's the thing so many people seem to miss today. We can work. We can pretty much do as we please with our free-time, the responsibilities of keeping up a home excluded. But what do we do with our time? Do we spend it with our friends and families, getting to know and love them even more? Do we invite neighbors or strangers into our homes to love on them? (This introvert doesn't!) Or do we look for other "things" to fill our time? I do... I think I'm the best at it.

The sad part is, will this poor world have to be subjected to having little to nothing left for people to realize what really matters? What things are actual "needs" versus what are merely "wants"? I hope not... but unfortunately, having things taken away seems like the best way to get our attention.