When the Scary Isn’t {Day 18}

I’ve been living unafraid for the last 18 days. Trusting God for real life. Not worrying about things that I used to find terrifying. And I have been caught off guard by the lack of fearful thoughts I have had. I am finding that, the more I look for how to live unafraid, the less chance I have to be afraid. I guess that’s what happens when we look fear in the face and tell it what’s what.

And the life that I’m living feels like how it’s supposed to be. The non-angst kind of stuff I face in my every day lets me experience the adventure in an incredibly real way. Like the Laugenstunde mit Kase I tried yesterday. It was just a pretzel breadstick with Asiago cheese in it, but a few weeks ago, I was afraid to order what I didn’t know how to pronounce. So yesterday I stared that fear down, and I ordered it straight, and I loved it. Because all that misplaced fear I had before — the kind that had me trying to protect myself — is now where it should be. I have placed my fear and trust in the only One worthy of it. The only One big enough and good enough to care for it.

Now that I know the living part of the unafraid, lots of the things I was afraid of have lost their big and scary. Like walking into the Metzgerei (butcher) and asking for bratwurst. Or saying goodbye to my kids at the bus stop instead of walking them all the way into school. Or submitting an raw and vulnerable piece for critiquing to an online writing class full of authors I respect. Like writing 31 blog posts in a row about living unafraid.

Have you taken the challenge to live unafraid this month? Are you looking fear in the face and telling it about the One true God Who gives us every reason to not be afraid. Every reason to put our fear in Him instead? Why not drop me an email or leave a comment right here and tell me about it? Just click on the words at the top of the page that say, “Let me know you were here” or click on the little speech bubble next to the title of this post. Yep, it’s as easy as that.

*This month, I’m joining a bunch of other bloggers in a challenge to write for 31 days on a topic about change. Having struggled with fear (sometimes paralyzing) for a lot of my life and missing much of the living that I know God wants for me, I am on a mission to live unafraid for 31 days straight. And challenging you to join me. And I’m writing about it. You can catch up here if you’ve missed any of the days. Bring a friend, too. It’ll make it more fun. Oh, and here’s a button for you to grab if you have a blog and would like to share the unafraid life (which, btw, I would love).

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