What Have You Been Afraid Of, Lately?

I've heard of people afraid of almost anything in their lives: spiders, the dark, ghosts, nuclear war, germs in their food, of drowning, of dogs, etc. I know of people who are afraid of being afraid, in a constant fear that somehow, somewhere, someone is out to get them. Still others are afraid of being abandoned, neglected or unloved by their parents, spouse, children or friends.

No matter what we are afraid of, be they things seen or unseen, events or ideas, it just shows that we are one with the rest of humanity. But when our fears exceed the limits of normalcy: when they begin to paralyze us, then we really have a problem. We have to have someone to talk about it and put an end to it. God desires that we become fully alive. He doesn't want his children to be hiding and keeping to themselves while the rest of the world is out there in the sun having fun.

It's OK to be afraid. It's the excessive fear that is not OK. Even saints, like Peter, (Mt 17:1-9) can falter and lose faith and become very afraid. But their fear ends when they remember that Christ is always with them. We only become very afraid when we lose sight of Him. We become anxious of things when we fail to see that He is with us, ever-ready to extend His loving arms to reach out to us when we feel that a sea of anxiety is ready to engulf us.

Like Peter we get distracted by our worldly concerns that we tend to forget that Jesus walks with us on the topsy-turvy water of lives. And yet, when we cry out to Him in panic and in pain, we are surprised that He is really there. Just waiting for us...And He, a little hurt, gently chastises us: "Why did you doubt, you of little faith?"