As we move into a new year, we tend to make resolutions such as work out more and eat better. I have noticed the advertisements rolling in from all the various weight loss programs to hitting the gym. I have made a conscious decision that going into 2025 I am going to leave some things behind in 2024. I have more years behind me than I have in front of me and I simply do not have the capacity to manage anything that is going to disrupt my peace. Can you feel what I am saying? I do not have time to pay attention to matters that steal my joy and rob me of time and energy that serves no purpose to me or anyone. When I think of what has impeded my ability it has been fear. Fear can be a crippling emotion if you yield to it and allow it to control you. It truly is the belief that someone or something is going to cause you harm or pain. The older I get I realize I have made decisions out of pain and or fear. I have also come to the realization that fear is the false evidence appearing real. So, if you are experiencing some of the same concerns related to fear, I challenge you to separate yourself from fear. How do I do that you ask? First begin to acknowledge that you are afraid and lean into it. Feel it and explore why you are afraid. Trust me it is not a feeling that immediately goes away because you say hello to it; however, take the first step. The second step is, whatever it is do it scared anyway. Not long ago, I did a hard thing. I went on a Sea Trek excursion in Mexico and walked the bottom of the Carribean Sea. Initially, fear consumed me when I knew the depth of water I was about to walk into. When the instructor said 18 feet, I just about lost it and began to say I can’t do it. My husband looked at me and said, didn’t you just tell your students, “You can do hard things?” It really isn’t fun when others use your words against you. I often tell my clients, “I will not ask you to do anything I am not willing to do myself or something I have not already done.” Well, I had to put my money where my mouth was. Again, I was afraid, but I did not want to miss out on another experience because I was too afraid to take one step. I faced a fear and it was the most beautiful experience I have had in a long time! All of the things I conjured in my mind was not my experience at all. It was AMAZING at it was an experience I shared with my husband. The third step is to write a letter to fear. I will share with you the one I wrote. In writing this letter I was able to identify and release the things that have been holding me back. Now that I have done so I will move forward in life and experience it to its fullest and do the hard things!
Hello Fear:
You have had a hold on to me for far too long. You have prevented me from speaking, you have prevented me from standing up for myself, you have simply prevented me from just being me. I have heard your whispers of telling me what I am not and what others think of me and I have believed those whispers so much until they became so loud that I believed every word and began to fulfill the negative narrative. It became so loud that it drowned out the word of God and I began to doubt His power in my life. I owe you nothing. I owe my Savior an apology for believing the false narrative. The interesting thing about God is that He never leaves us or forsakes us. So even though there were times that I felt like I was drowning in my doubt, He always placed someone in my life to remind me of His love and what I am capable of doing. I have made promises to God of what I would do if He spared my life and because He has I must fulfill my promise. I do not have time to play or entertain you and observe the lives of others. It is time for me to do what I promised God I would do. Consider this notification of me permanently deleting you from my life and immersing myself in the promises of God. You have been evicted from my life and can no longer take residence in my heart or my mind. I have done hard things and will continue to conquer hard things through Christ. I am a daughter of the most High and there is nothing I cannot do without Christ. Your time is up! Go back to the pits of hell where you belong. I am thankful that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind. This is God’s promise to me and I believe ALL of His promises. Deuces fear! You are not welcome here.
