Do not be anxious about anything.
Philippians 4:6
We are told not to be anxious about anything….but I am.
Anxious about things unknown, a fear of what I cannot see.
The picture below illustrates this perfectly. While my friends were swimming in the lake, I went paddling because I don’t like swimming in bodies of water where I cannot see the bottom. Even paddling on a lake, I wear a life vest because once I paddle about 10 yards from shore I start feeling anxious. I’m actually a strong swimmer, so it’s not that I cannot swim but rather that I’m afraid of what I cannot see.
The fear exists even though I know the lake isn’t very deep… even though I’m a strong swimmer… even though I’m wearing a life vest. It took a near panic attack about 5 years ago for me to recognize that it wasn’t just that I didn’t like to swim in the ocean or lakes, but that there was a real fear of doing so. It happened while snorkeling, with a pool noodle, while wearing a life vest and swimming in the crystal clear Caribbean blue ocean. A place where I could actually see the bottom of the ocean, but yet I panicked when I was about 10 yards away from the boat and had to swim back. It was in this moment that I began to notice all the “what ifs” permeating my mind.
Over time, I learned to recognize when these thoughts and feeling begin to surface and it is in these moments when I practice talking to myself to provide reassurance. And that when life throws me curve balls and trials where I do not know the outcome, I must wholeheartedly trust God. He won’t leave me alone. He is always with me.
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Just a reminder for me (and you) that He will never forget us- He has carved us in the palm of his hand.
I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palms of my hand.
Isaiah 49:15
