Light and Dark

It's been a while since I posted on this blog.  I finished the book, and figured I would move on to other subjects.  The events of the last two weeks have moved me to write here again...

I had a conversation with my son today about fear.  As I have written about many times before, fear is the base of all negative emotion and behavior.  It is Satan's best friend and his most effective tool.

I told my youngest child, who is fearful of change, that fear can be managed...and then I stopped.  I had recently let fear get the best of me.  It created a cascade of events that led to more fear involving someone that I cared deeply for.  Satan had done his number...again!  By the time I realized that he was using both of our fears against us, to keep us apart, my next fear was that it was too late to repair the damage I had contributed to.  My fear was furthered within days by more evidence that once again, love had slipped through my fingers...

Tears came to my eyes as I then explained how fear is the darkness.  When we turn to the light, the shadows disappear and joy can be found.  Joy is unstable however, and the shadow lurkers want company.  I made my son look me in the eye.  I explained that courage is the ability to turn around and face the shadows.  Staring them down makes them shrink away.  Why?  Because there is a light within each of us that believe.  When we face our fears, they shrink away into what they really are...figments of our imagination and lies.

I almost became a victim of fear again.  No matter what the outcome of the current events, I have the light.  I will turn to it and let the shadows stay behind me.  When I need to face them again, hopefully, I will be better at seeing the game that the evil one plays.  I will shine the light that is within me and be strengthened by the light that stands behind me.

I have spend weeks in prayer.  Praying for me, my family, and the person that I hurt.  I will face whatever is next with courage, celebrate the light, and accept failure as a part of life.  I will feel sadness, but not fear.  The darkness won't win ever again.  AMEN