fear – Pastor Barry's Blog

I’m Scared…

Ever think about fear? Really think about it? (I’m pretty sure this is not the way to grab your attention and make you want to read today’s blog…but I promise it gets better…but then again claiming something gets better is a relative statement…so it may not get better at all. However, I can now sleep better having supplied this disclaimer!)

The other night my middle daughter was sitting and eating an ice cream cone and said, “Oh great! Tonight I am going to have a nightmare.” She was fearful. And unfortunately, she has come to associate something so wonderful (in this case a butterscotch dipped vanilla ice cream cone from Dairy Queen late in the evening) with something very distressing.”

And sure enough, call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, later that night around 2 in the morning this little person appeared in my bedroom and crawled in bed with her mother and I. She said, “I just had a nightmare.” Really? What can cause a six-year old to have a nightmare? Do they even know what a nightmare is? What in her little world is so scary? Maybe everything?

It’s been a long time since I was that age and I really only remember being afraid three times. All of which actually occurred…

The first was when I thought I would get the wrong answer on the English test. The teacher would show us a picture, say the word, and then we had to tell the vowel – something like recognizing the difference between pen and pin.

The second was Valentine’s day and I was afraid I wouldn’t get any valentines. Or worse yet – I would get the dreaded this is meant for a girl valentine, but I don’t have enough meant for a boy valentines and I have to give one to everyone so you get this one valentine.

And thirdly, (is thirdly even a word) I was afraid of missing the bus (which I did), not because I didn’t know where to go – I knew I could walk there – but because I would miss playtime (and did) with my friends. I wasn’t afraid of the fact that I would have to walk a couple of miles by myself, along a busy road, and totally unaware of how vulnerable I was to….well….everything. I also remember my mom’s fear…by the time she found me she was really worked up.

But back to the other night, there was Kara – having to snuggle up in the safety and security of her parent’s bed. Here it was safe and here it was peaceful…

Writing this has made me think about fear’s definition and struggling to know – for sure – if I can define it properly. Sure I know what it is, I know it when I have it, and I know how it makes me feel, but can I accurately define it for someone else? Since I’m not sure I will go look it up…

Fear can be both a verb and a noun. As a verb it is defined as, “Being afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful or threatening.” As a noun it is defined as, “An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

Basically…fear is distressing…

But honestly as Christ followers, we don’t have to fear. We really don’t! In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Yay, God! If God is for us then who can be against us? And what do we have to be afraid of?

Nothing, zero, zilch…

So the next time you are afraid of something, remember in whose hand you rest. In Him you can find peace and safety.

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

In the Presence…

Let me tell you about Kara…

My middle child, as opposed to her sisters, who can go and play by themselves for hours, wants to be with people. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, where you are sitting, or even what time it is – Kara wants to be with you.

Recently we had one of those mornings. One where, she got up early, and crawled in bed and snuggled up close. (And then kicked and pushed and squirmed….as she tried to get close.) As I struggled for “space” I couldn’t help but think of how wonderful it was.

I also thought about her feelings, about how secure she must have felt nestled there. At that moment there was no other place she wanted to be…it was there she felt loved…it was there she felt safe…it was there she felt at home…

I suppose this is what we all long for – a place where we can feel safe, a place where we can feel secure.

So this all got me thinking… In whose presence is it that I long to be? But I also thought of the reverse of this question…Who is it that longs to be with me?

I long for the hugs of my daughter and her small hand grasping mine. Yesterday she had her cast removed and replaced on her arm. There she sat all brave holding onto my hand for security. Knowing that even though she was scared I was with her….and I loved it!

If I long for this and love being wanted so much…how much more does our Heavenly Father long for our presence, our love, and our lives?

After all, it’s Him who can provide all the love we could want and all the hope we could ever need.

This is not an easy world to live in…that goes without saying. So you may be reading this and finding yourself in a bad place, in a bad time, and in a bad way…

If that is true for you, then I want you to know that there is a place you can go. There is a place you can find rest. There is a place you can find security. And most importantly there is a place you can find hope!

So take a moment and crawl up into Jesus’ lap…crawl within His arms…and just let Him hold you. It is a wonderful place to be. In fact, there is no better place to be…

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

Backpack…

Backpacks are awesome! I just love mine – it holds a ton of stuff and almost anything I feel I might need during a day is in there. My iPod, the charger, headphones, an external hard drive, a scan disk, an adapter, usb drives, pens, pencils, power cords, my macbook, mail from the last 2 weeks, my Bible… I think you get the picture.

In reality I need to clean it out….but what do I remove? I’m sure the minute I take something out is the very moment I am going to need it.

But last week I decided I was going to do just that – clean it out. I emptied EVERY pocket and let me tell you there are a lot of pockets – just ask my wife. Many is the time that I have asked her to grab something for me and told her which pocket it was in. But, trying to figure out which pocket is the back pocket or the pocket inside of the third pocket ends up only being a lesson in futility (which for the record is not her fault.)

So there I sat emptying everything out onto my desk…it was an amazing site. There were piles everywhere! I couldn’t believe how much stuff was in there. Piece by piece I went through everything and you know what happened? Yep – it ALL ended up back in the back pack. I didn’t get rid of anything I simply changed where I kept it.

We all wear backpacks in life. Everyday we collect things and we stuff them inside. Some things we keep on top and easily accessible. Other things we bury deep down and hope to hide. Some things we like and want to share with others. Other things we hope no one ever sees. The only problem is that the more and more things we stuff in our backpack the heavier it gets. And let me tell you it can get very heavy and we don’t even realize it.

So today why don’t you sit back and empty your backpack. Take inventory of what’s in there. Find out what you want to keep, what you need to keep, and what you need to get rid of. Perhaps you have guilt, anger, jealously, fears, failures, shortcomings, or any number of things, you need to get rid of.

Find someone you trust. Find someone you know cares. Find a pastor. But find someone who can help you as you empty your backpack of the stuff you don’t need.

But, let me tell you it starts with Jesus! He is the one who can and wants to help you lighten the load – these other people – they are the ones that can help keep you accountable during the purging!

So until next time…

Pastor Barry