Yesterday I made a little confession about how I procrastinate. While I'm on the subject of my frailties, today I will talk about one of my fears.... riding in a car.... especially in the rain or at night (or in the daytime, come to think of it).
It doesn't matter if I am driving or am a passenger, when I am riding in a car in the rain, my stomach gets tied up in knots. I have tried to figure out exactly why I am like this and there are several things that have contributed to it. The first rung in this ladder of fear was when I was about 20 years old, driving my little red 1977 Chevette. Anybody remember those? :o). Anyway, I was driving to work in Raleigh at the time in the rain. I came up to a stoplight that turned yellow just as I came to it. The safest thing would have been to keep on going, but I slammed on brakes and the car skidded out of control. I didn't hit anybody or flip over, but it was VERY close.
Over the years my fear of riding in cars in the rain has gotten worse. And to tell you the truth, driving on a sunny, clear day isn't a picnic for me. The latest rung on the ladder of fear was when I was involved in a fairly serious wreck two summers ago. Also, I was once hit by two big ole cows and never go through that section of my route to work without watching out for more!!!!!
The reason I am telling you all of this today is that we are experiencing some very rainy, blustery days here in North Carolina. The combination of the remnants of a tropical storm and a low that has formed of the coast are making for some bad weather conditions, including flooding. Today I am off work for Veteran's Day, but have an appointment that is very important for me to get to.
So, you guessed it!!! I have to drive in the rain today!!!!
It is very important for me to remember that during all the accidents I have been in and the near misses, I was never seriously hurt... and that's no accident! At those times I have always remembered this Scripture verse:
Psalm 91:11-12: For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. This is also the scripture verse that is the theme of my Angel Scraps Quilting Blog.
This morning while reading the Bible, I was looking for verses on fear and have memorized this one for comfort today:
Joshua Chapter 1, Verse 9: I hereby command you; Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Notice that God COMMANDED the Israelites not to be afraid and to trust Him! Now fear is a God given human emotion that serves its purpose in the right situations. Think of running from a bear for example. So fear is not a sin.
So how do we handle situations where we are afraid? Lots of prayer, trust and repeating scriptures like the two above!
Since we are all human and all experience fear, I would be interested to know what kinds of things you are afraid of and how you handle these fears. Please leave a comment if you would like to share.
