I was involved in something today that was very difficult for me. My oldest daughter and I took the two granddaughters for swimming lessons. Sounds like an easy thing to do, right? Not so.

The first day of swim lessons is always very hard because the children are so upset and you want to just jump in and rescue them and tell them it will be ok. It is incredibly hard to watch while your children are calling for you to come get them. It is especially hard for the children because they are not in control and having to learn something that is frightening to them.

That was this morning and I am still a little shaken up about it. Ha. You know this is one of those lessons that could save their life and also one that they will remember for a lifetime. You want them to be able to enjoy the water and feel safe in it but man, it is so difficult when the lesson is happening.

Today, I thought about us as adults because it is just as hard for us to face a fear and overcome it. It is the same fear when we are out of our element and not in control that grips us and has the potential to frighten us. There are all sorts of examples in our own adult lives of fear and doing something you have never done before. Marriage, job, sales calls, change, moving, going back to school, age, health, life and the list could go on and on.

I think when you are faced with a fear you either decide to conquer the fear or learn how to live with it. There are certain fears we just need to learn how live with such as rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving etc. These fears are easy to live it. It is the fear of something that you know you should overcome but choose not to, that I believe peals away a little of your joy, peace, and fulfillment. These type small fears that we allow in our life can grow to other areas of our life if we allow fear to remain.

I cannot tell you which fears you should fight or not because once I learn how to fight my own fears, I will be able to help you. Until then we all have areas in our lives that we have allowed fear to control and I believe if we could hear the voice of God, he would tell us to be bold and try again.

A real important thing to understand is that every fear we as adults face and overcome is a fear that you have experience with when your children face the same thing. In your mind’s eye, think of your children asking you for advice on the very fear you faced and overcame. You have the knowledge and the basis to help them. If your children face a fear that you succumbed to, it is difficult to tell them “do as I say instead of as I do.” KT