Don’t let the fear steal away the wonder.

I have always loved the ocean. Growing up close to it it was impossible to not love it. I would read about it and study it, I even would steal my grandfather’s National Geographic magazines, but to be honest I love all nature….except biting insects like say sand flies. As a kid I used to jump into any body of water without thinking too hard about it, it was wonderful! My parents would keep spare cloths in the car because they knew I would get wet. Then it happened. I was swimming in the Lake at our cabin and something hurt! It really hurt! My spidey sense said get back to shore so I did. My neoprene wet suit had a hole right where my pain was, this was a fresh water lake, turned out I had been bitten by a large pike, he was like the jaws of the lake and has struck others to this day. Okay, so maybe it hasn’t been the same fish, but suddenly I realized that the fish I had swam with all those years while note caring could hurt me. That never kept me out of the water but it did make me think twice before going in. This was just a small loss of wonder to be replaced by fear, but what about all the other things we suddenly fear as we grow up and understand more? Things that sent a chill of excitement now send a chill of fear. Why? Because our childish ignorance has been replaced by knowledge and that scares us. Don’t let the fear win. Do the things you used to do without thinking that now scare you. Speak up when you see an injustice, tell that friend about Jesus, give away to those in need when you feel led to, ride that roller coaster, talk to that family member that you feel distant from, swim with the fish. Don’t let the fear win the place your wonder deserves. Live. That’s what God created you to do!  

God didn’t want us to hang on to scars, that’s why the body heals. The wounds seal over and the remnants of pain fade. When will we let the wounds in our hearts heal over so that their pain fades? God didn’t make us to be patchwork quilts of pain, He made us to be starfish, when one point breaks it heals and grows a new one, with no memory of the previous self that was lost. Don’t be discouraged, and don’t cling to what God has already been trying to heal in you. Until you let go God can’t seal your wound, because you are working to keep it open. Let Him heal you. It’s okay to let go.

To the old me. The one who was afraid that she had missed her chance. I want to tell her that something did happen, something good, and we are now moving forward.

As the old preacher said, “God isn’t finished with you until you’re in your grave.”
It’s easy to fear that we’ve missed our chance and that God is done with us, especially as things go on and you see more and more candles on your cake and more wrinkles on your face you can easily begin to feel like life has passed you by, but that isn’t true. When God wants you to do something your age will never stop Him from using you. His plan is His and His timing is perfect. Don’t become discouraged, God has a great plan for you, just trust His timing.