You Are Really Gonna Be Somethin' Pretty Awesome!

He said he awoke to sounds

 of someone coming in through the window,

and instantly,

 his stomach was in his throat.

So leaving the safety of his bed

 he began to search for the intruder.

Upon closer inspection,

 he realized

 that the

"intruder coming through the window"

was nothing more

 than his son's gerbil

taking a midnight spin

 on the gerbil wheel!

 

He was unnerved.

Wide awake.

All systems primed to kill the gerbil.

And yet,

there was safety in the house.

Home was a refuge,

a safe refuge.

And though he didn't say,

I suppose he went back to bed,

and I would imagine

 sleep was long in coming.

 

I overheard my brother

relate this story a few days ago.

He told how the incident

completely unnerved him.

I've thought about it all day today,

 off and on

and

I've thought about how

life can deal you some blows

those hard difficult blows

that just simply

 slug your stomach

to your throat
in much the same way
that my brother felt.

Often those blows

bring up emotions

and

responses to fear.
 

F.E.A.R.

f...false

e...evidence

a...appearing

r...real

 

I know

I know...

not always...

is fear based on false evidence,

but yes,

 sometimes it really is.

 

This evening late,

thunder rumbled,

lightening flashed,

the wind blew,

leaves swirled across the yard,

the temperature cooled,

the humidity evaporated.

We gathered on the porch

to enjoy a summer storm.

 

And yet,

everything

we heard

and saw

was false evidence.

There was no storm.

There was no rain.

 

On a particularly long

and stressful day,

not too long ago,

I told my husband,

"If we can just get through this,

 we are gonna be SO AWESOME!"

Ha ha ha,
now I chuckle at my attempts.
 

I was trying to keep it light

and

interject the positive

and try to feel things

that neither of us probably

felt like feeling.

But hey, why not try?

Right?

And he would chuckle

 and respond with a half hearted,

 "Yeah."

 

Because you've probably dealt

 with some of the same things we have,

when life is

knocking you around
and
slugging your stomach
right up to your Adam's apple

and the thunder is rumbling

and the lightening is flashing

and on top of all that...

you think you hear an
 "intruder comin' through the window".

 

When all along,
that ruckus,
that noise,
that emergency,
that tough time,
  is just the gerbil on the wheel.
 

So don't give in to fear I tell ya.

Recognize

"that gerbil"

"that intruder"

"that joy stealer"

"that worry maker"

"that energy zapper"

for what he really is,

and focus on

Truth

and

Peace

and

Joy

and

Love

and

Comfort.

 

I have to tell myself that too.

Because many times fear is from

false

evidence

appearing

real.

 

So tell me,

how do you deal with fear?

 

He knows the way I take and when He has tried me I will come forth as gold.

Old Testament Book of Job, Chapter 23 verse 10

 

So look out y'all,

once you get through whatever

 it is you are going through,

you are gonna be somethin' really awesome. 

 Just you wait and see!