{"id":227557,"date":"2023-06-01T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T17:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/?p=227557"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:41:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:41:38","slug":"fear-is-a-liar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/fear-is-a-liar\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear is a Liar"},"content":{"rendered":"

At one of the charity auction events for which I had donated a painting, Clark and I won a bid on a trip. Our four children were still young at the time, and time alone with Clark was in short supply. We so looked forward to jumping on a plane and enjoying the crystal-clear waters of Turks and Caicos.<\/span><\/p>\n

About two weeks before our departure, though, a terrible fear of flying gripped me. <\/span>What in the world?<\/span><\/i> I thought. <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span><\/i> jumped <\/span>out of planes. What is wrong with me?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I tried reasoning with myself. I talked it out (or attempted to). Of course I prayed. But fear continued to slither in my ears.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember breaking down at a swim meet, grabbing my brother-in-law and explaining to him where Clark and I kept our wills. I told him what to do \u201cwhen we\u2019re gone.\u201d I also wrote my sister a long letter, giving specific instructions for how to raise Blakely, Catherine, Taylor, and Ford. I really, truly believed I might die on the getaway my husband and I had won. I was deathly afraid that I\u2019d board the plane and never return, leaving my four incredible, beautiful children behind, with no mommy or daddy to care for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fear-stricken for several days, I finally called my prayer-warrior friend, Anne Cochran. I desperately needed prayer support.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand. Why is the fear so heavy?\u201d I asked my friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anne listened as I unloaded. Then she prayed powerfully. I was driving while she prayed, and as she closed with an \u201camen,\u201d I looked closely at a car that had stopped ahead of me at a red light. A worn bumper sticker on its rear fender contained only one word in all-capital letters: <\/span>PEACE<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Message received, Lord, was my immediate response. Thank You. Thank You, Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy to get on that plane, but I did it. On that flight I also started something that has since become a habit of mine. I made the sign of the cross on the left side of the plane, declaring with my hands and my faith what my mind had trouble believing: Jesus was in control. I travel frequently now and continue this practice; it\u2019s one way I remind fear that I trust in God.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we landed safely in Turks and Caicos, Clark and I rendezvoused with our assigned driver. I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed the sticker plastered on the side of his van:<\/span><\/p>\n

Step by step, keep following Me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Jesus<\/span><\/p>\n

We discovered our driver also worked as a pastor, and God\u2019s peace flooded me! I felt cared for by my heavenly Father. And I knew He would care for my kids too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clark and I had a wonderful trip, reveling in the masterpiece of creation that Turks and Caicos was\u2014charming and, in many places, unspoiled. With powdery white-sand beaches stretching into turquoise waters that kiss the horizon, these islands proclaimed peace and glory. It was just what my husband and I needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

What we did not need was a ridiculous fight about God-only-knows-what the night before our scheduled return home. Not only was the fight silly\u2014truly, I cannot remember what prompted the argument\u2014it was also needlessly big. Perhaps you\u2019ve been in a situation where a relatively small issue quickly escalates and, suddenly, you\u2019re in the middle of the relational equivalent to a nuclear war. Not good.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was fuming and emotionally taxed. It\u2019s not surprising, then, that fear crept right back into my mind and heart, ready to take up residence for good. This is when I discovered that, even when one is fear-stricken and fighting with a loved one, one still has to eat. So the next morning Clark and I went down to the beachside restaurant for our last meal (on the island, that is, not existentially, though I feared it could be the final meal of my life).<\/span><\/p>\n

Virtually every restaurant in Turks and Caicos sported outdoor tables, and this breakfast spot was no exception. Just as the waitress took our finished plates away, a white dove swooped down and sat, peering at me, right next to our table. I almost laughed out loud. A white dove. Seriously? An international symbol of peace and the symbol, in my faith, of God the Holy Spirit?<\/span><\/p>\n

From this I sensed the message, Make peace with your husband, Anne. Receive My peace about your flight. Return to Me every time the grip of fear tightens. I will never leave you or forsake you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t