I Am Afraid … But why?

It was just a dream. Not real. I even know it was a dream. But I still feel the shivers down my back as if it was just as real. I woke up a bit afraid to face the day.

Is there a connection between dreams and reality? They say if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. How do they know? I mean if the person died in real life, how do they know what they were dreaming, or even if they were dreaming at all? But I get it – dreams make me shiver, happy, fearful, laugh, and a whole slew of other emotions.

Acts 2 tells us young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams … am I an old man?

So, the dream … my father was there. He was telling me that if he had to do it all over again, he would parent totally different. I didn’t get that. Maybe in regards to my siblings, but I turned out so well. (JK sibs). My father continued. We, his kids, were too violent – too angry at the world.

As I ponder … is it me reflecting on my father, how I miss him, or how I would love to see him? Or is it a reflecting on my parenting role, how I wish I could have been better, even regretting some scenarios I play over in my mind?

My son, 1200 miles away and preparing for major life changes as his wedding day approaches, called and we talked about some of his fears. His getting married I get the fears. Nothing about the one he is marrying, well, not too much about her, but mostly about the uncertainties of expectations we place on ourselves and so forth.

My wife, though she would never tell me her fears, has to be facing them. She places such high expectations on herself and her roles in life. She does not want to let people down, she wants to connect to excellence in work, relationships, ministry, and in her newest endeavor of her blog. (If you haven’t checked it out … go there)

Fears, we all have them. We may mask it in words like worry, concern, anxiety, etc. but they are around.

So what do we do? What did I do this morning? Me, I wrote a blog about it while trying to process it all. And in the end, I came up with the same advice I gave my son, and so many others. I remind myself …

God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. And the first in this list is power … the power to overcome fears is part of that.

So, get into the Word, trust in the Lord, and remember He is always with you. He provides, protects, and empowers. He loves me … always.

That’s comforting. That drives away fears. So today, grab hold and don’t let go of that truth.