Fearful Tomorrow

Why does the past always seem safer?
Maybe because at least we know we made it
And why do we worry about the future?
When every day will come just the way the Lord ordained it
You can believe it, yeah, just like the 8th grade – Chris Rice

I have been a fan of Chris Rice since Smell the Color Nine album in the early 2000s. His songs are catchy, but if you look beyond the surface, they are deep…maybe deep enough to dream.

I was with a group the other night and we were telling our concerns, and it seemed like fear was a predominant theme. Fear of not understanding, fear of the unknown. Fear easily grips ahold and it’s much harder to force it to let you go.

Or maybe it’s us that won’t let it go?

Fear is a common thread through history that everyone has faced at least once. Some conquer their fears and others become slaves to them.

But the thing about fear is it usually only has the strength we give it.

Snakes are not fear mongering creatures in of themselves. But snake haters have the fear because they fear them. People who have snakes as pets most likely do not fear them.

The snake ultimately isn’t the source of the fear. But it’s an external reason for a fear.

If you ask someone why they are afraid of snakes and not worms, they will probably look at you like you are crazy. But a snake is just a large worm (not scientifically though, just in looks).

Not all fears are reasonable.

I would say most fears aren’t reasonable. Yet we still have them.

I’ve heard the best way to beat your fear is to face the thing that you fear.

Talking in large group of people will show you that it’s not all that bad. Jumping in the shallow end of a pool may show you that it’s actually fun. Riding in an elevator will get you up 10 floors much faster than the winding stairwell.

It may be hard to face our fears, but once you do, you may notice that it was really that scary after all. Just like the eighth grade.

When you were in middle school you may have been fearful of gym class, school dances, pop quizzes, bullies lurking around the corner, or class projects.

But if you got through the tumultuous teenage years with just a few wounds, you can say you survived it. But at the time of your teenage years you probably thought you would never get through it.

The mountains we climb are usually not as high as the mountain standing in our way (so we think). But once we reach the summit, we sometimes realize it wasn’t that bad after all.

That is the interesting thing of our minds. The mountain, the hurdle, the deadline, the obstacle in our way is always worse than anything we had ever accomplished before.

But the thing to remember, you accomplished all those other hurdles before you. And you will once again complete the treacherous journey ahead of you.

So, is the past safer than the future?

Probably not.

It’s just safer because you got through it.

Just like you will get through tomorrow as well.

So, take a deep breath. And maybe another. And then proceed.

If you don’t succeed the first time…try again. And again.

But don’t let your fear keep you from trying. That is the only way you will lose — if you never try.

Failure shouldn’t be graded by how many times it takes. It should only be graded as an incomplete if you don’t even try.

You made it through today…try to make it through tomorrow. Most likely, you will make it through, just as the Lord ordained it. Yeah you can believe it, just like the eighth grade.

Yeah, I hope you can believe it.

Peace

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