Parents, Things aren’t always as they appear. On vacation one year, we
awoke the first morning to clouds, and fog so heavy it made your clothes wet if you stepped outside. But undeterred, I was determined to enjoy my vacation, fog or no fog! I checked with the family to see if anyone wanted to go for a bike ride and my youngest said she would go. (BTW Happy 21st Birthday Annabelle McGinnis!) We headed through the fog soup toward the marina. Visibility was near zero, but we followed the trails and streets until we arrived at the end of the island at the marina. We parked the bikes and walked into the marine supply store to look around. It was like a scene from a scary movie. The lights were dim and blinky fluorescent bulbs, making it hard to see, and the store was empty. Then some sailors came into the store. Charter boat captains, I assume. They had the dingy, (not to be confused with dinghy) yellow colored, head to toe rain suits… like they had just walked off a ghost ship… it sent a chill up your spine. It didn’t help that my voracious reader daughter, who had quite an imagination, was with me. As my irrational discomfort turned into wide eyed fear, I felt more and more silly, but no less scared. And whether it was happening or not with my daughter, I thought I saw a little fear in her eyes too. Each of us stoking the fear we perceived in each other. We quickly made an escape plan from the dimly lit store, passing the extra large hooks, gaffs, fish knives, and Spam, avoiding the yellow clad spectors, whom I was certain I heard talking like pirates… “Arrgh… I think we’ll be need’n’ some chucky chum for the sharks today”... My daughter and I walked faster toward the exit as they made their way toward us down the end of the aisle of the marina store. As we rushed out the door and stumbled down the steps, we jumped on our bikes and peddled away from those Pirates of the Carolinas, hearts beating faster than any workout we thought we may have had on those bicycles. We came back to the beach rental house excitedly telling our story of our harrowing experience. But somehow, when the fog had cleared and I rode back to the marina store with my wife later that day, the ghostly, haunted marina was a beautiful resort marina surrounded by luxury vessels ready for fun and enjoyment. My wife has never let me forget this confused perception of this beautiful and welcoming environment.
Fear can do that to us all… it can change our perspective of reality. It changes how we think. Fear shuts down the rational and relational parts of our brains. It makes us see enemies, when there are none. Fear in us can instill fear to those around us too, it can be contagious. God gives us fear for protection, there are some scary situations that we need to be aware of and avoid, or confront, but if we confront everything from a fear perspective, we lose the reality that God loves and cares for us and we forget how to love and care for others. We move into protection mode and we begin to fear everything and everyone looks like a threat. “The disciple whom Jesus loved,” encourages us to not let our lives be driven by fear, but by love. The apostle John says,
“There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19 (CSBBible) Remember things aren’t always as they appear, remember God is love and we love because God first loved us. Let love replace your fear, because fear can easily manipulate us into thoughts and actions that are not loving at all.
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
