Recently my oldest friend came to visit with two of her children. She’s known me since I was wee. We like to laugh about our childhood adventures and unlikely pairing—Steph is fearless. She told her daughters, “Jennie knew all the houses where dogs lived in town. She’d say, ‘No, we can’t go that way! There’s a big dog behind that fence!’” True, and still true. Though my walks with God through the dog park did diminish my fearful reactions to strange dogs, I still prefer to avoid them when possible.
Fear may keep me from adventure and fun, but more importantly, it can keep me from the pleasures, gifts, revelation, growth and increase God wants to give me. There are times when God works in my life mysteriously and quietly, but most of the time I must be willing to step forward and answer His call. I must be unafraid to listen for His voice and then I must have the faith and boldness to move.
Sometimes if Steph’s ideas were a little too risky, she needed my counterbalance. We’ve decided that perhaps our personalities were a good mix of eagerness and pause. But in my relationship with God, there need only be eagerness. When I know He is moving in me, I need only go. There is nothing to fear, no reason to doubt. Confidence and trust in Him brings blessings to me.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Meeting God at the Park 
Even I wonder if I would have the faith required to overcome my fear. If I were like Daniel would I have been fearless enough to stand up and do what is right in the face of the lions den, would I have gone up against Goliath, or even not denied Christ 3 times as Peter did. Sometimes it takes a lot of faith to be so fearless.
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I think you could, Steph Ann. 🙂
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