Dear Leah.. this is because of you. You are the inspiration behind this post and I am so thankful to have such a Godly woman as my friend.
My dear dear friend and teammate, Leah, face timed me the yesterday. We started talking about our fears and lack of control that we will face on the Race. She said her mentor had mentioned a phrase to start asking ourselves any time we come across fear.
“And then what?”
It’s a simple phrase, yet so complex. What comes after this fear. You start to dissect it. Why do I feel this way? What will I do if it happens? What will I do after it happens?
Tonight, I was discussing with a friend of mine how there was so much hurt in the world and how he wished he could make it all go away. There is no quick and easy solution. We can’t snap our fingers and make it all go away. All the bad people. All the abuse. All the pain. We feel powerless against it all.
It was like I could hear Leah’s voice clear as day. “And then what?”
What good comes from fixating on the pain and the fear. No, seriously, tell me? What can I physically do. No, I can’t snap my fingers and make it go away.. so then what?
Well I can get involved with a mission that attacks the problem. Ok. And then what?
I could tell other people about the problem and how it affects me. Ok. And then what?
Well, I could maybe go to the mission and actively participate in finding a resolution.
It keeps going and going, but by asking yourself this question, what happened? You took a fear of yours and took little steps to find a way to get to the bottom of it.
This phrase is simple, but it is powerful.
As Christians, we can’t help but be sympathetic to the world around us. But, it gets too much. We feel powerless and small. I know I feel like I’m just a 21 year old nobody, but that isn’t true.
God can use any one. You just have to make the decision. You can either let the fear and pain eat you up inside and make you useless or you can ask yourself “and then what?” and try and make a change.
Go step by step. Listen to God. He WILL use you. He will give you the right outlet and the right people. Take the step forward and don’t be frozen with fear.
