As a man, it’s embarrassing to
admit that sometimes I get scared. I’ve always seen myself as this big, strong,
tough guy, who ain’t afraid of nuthin! But last week, I got scared, super
scared, three times!
The first time was Monday. I left my house in pitch-black darkness headed south to San Diego. At the first intersection I approached, I needed to turn left and the lights up ahead were all green. It was early, I was thinking about all the work I needed to get done, and I guess a bit distracted. As I started to turn left, I heard a noise, just a slight whisper of a sound. Not sure what it was but it woke me up to see that the left turn lane light was bright red… and a huge Sprinter Van was about to barrel head on into me. I swerved at the last second, narrowly avoiding a major collision, my heart absolutely beating out of my chest!
The second time was a few days later. My wife and I were at a friend's beautiful beach house that sits high above Strand’s Beach. The view of the ocean, looking down at the white sandy beach and rolling blue waves will take your breath away. However, the stone steps that lead down from the patio towards the beach are super steep and a bit treacherous. My wife and I were talking and laughing, but when I got up to go move the umbrella, I stepped awkwardly on the first step and started to fall backwards down the stone staircase. It all happened so fast, but it was like there was momentary pressure on my back, and somehow… I regained my balance. Had I fallen, I would have been very seriously injured, but instead I just stood there with my heart going a hundred miles an hour, scared out of my head once again!
The third time was Friday and a total precursor to Halloween. I had a big job to do in Camarillo, so I picked up my son, David, at 5:00am and headed north on the 5 freeway. It was dark out and traffic on the freeway was light, but my night vision isn’t so great these days. So after driving only a few miles, I heard a voice in my head saying you better clean your glasses. But when I put them back on, I noticed something that set my heart racing once again! A huge, nasty spider was hanging from a thin web only inches in front of my face. I screamed out to my son, immediately swerving over to the side of the road, and jumped out yelling SPIDER! My son bailed out of the truck but not before noticing the giant black arachnid just above the steering wheel. Somehow, despite my heart going crazy, I was able to grab a wad of napkins and “escort” the nasty creature out of my truck. But what was also scary was… if I fail when I go for him, that creature is going to hide somewhere in my truck, and I will have to live the rest of my life in fear of him!
And that got me thinking… about fear and failure. Where did that slight whisper, that momentary pressure, and that voice in my head that saved me from disaster come from? I’m not sure, but because I feel connected to God, I choose to believe that He is with me, helping me and guiding me at all times. I’m not saying that bad things won’t happen, they do. But more importantly, I don’t think I should ever live my life in fear or even worrying about failure for that matter, because in the Bible it says that there is only one thing we need to fear… failing to receive God’s grace.
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