A Frightened Child

When I can't see the road ahead, I become very uneasy. The less I can see, the less sure I am of myself. I become very vulnerable and fragile over silly things. The source of my weakness is, of course, my insistence on depending upon my own strength. I'm afraid to lean on other people because I fear being a nuisance, being considered absurd, or just be brushed aside. It is easier to keep quiet about my troubles, or at least to downplay them.

I don't lean on God because I am too prideful. Oh that I had the humility to trust Him completely! Still I keep Him at arms length until I am most vulnerable and sometimes even then I am trying to carry myself. I am too stubborn. I don't like to admit when I get hurt and I don't like change.

I try very hard to deal with the things life throws at me as they come, but it just isn't my forte. What it comes down to is that I do need support from others, especially God. At these times that I feel so vulnerable, even though I know that I'm being ridiculous, I just need to know that things are going to be ok and that I'm still loved.

Just as one comforts a frightened child, I believe that we need to comfort each other. In that moment, when I child is scared because he or she believes that there are monsters under the bed, it doesn't matter whether or not the fear is rational or well-founded. The only thing that matters is that the child is scared. I'll try to remember that when others are scared or anxious about small troubles.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to really let go completely of my pride and my fear during this life. In the mean time, though, I'll just keep working at being more up front with people about my worries, without downplaying them, and letting others help me through my rough times. I'll also be working on being more aware of when others might need me to be more sensitive to what troubles they're experiencing. Then I'll try to find my way back to the "garden" and maybe bring some of my loved ones along with me. =)