humanity - Related Content

Discerning in the face of fear

Thursday, October 27th 2016 12:00 pm
Sister Amy Taylor, FSPA


For one day each year fear is celebrated. As the sun goes down on October 31, Halloween, All Hallow's Eve (watch this Busted Halo video "You don't know Jack ... about Halloween"), imaginations light up. People of all ages let go of their everyday realities and dress up as cute characters, put on images of spookiness. The ghosts, zombies and monsters that darken doorways are rewarded with sweets rather than screams. A werewolf loses his menace as we catch a glimpse of human chin exposed to make way for a mini chocolate bar. 


jack-o-lanterns

Image courtesy of freeimages.com

Yet for some, shadows can transform even the cheeriest of places, like the neighborhood playground, into dark spaces of the unknown. The cover of night obscures both vision and actuality. You might be afraid to look ahead of and behind you. Sometimes, discernment can feel like that; like walking in the dark on unfamiliar roads with images of the unknown lurking around every corner. In times of uncertainty it is helpful to call on God, asking for transformation of the trepidation we perceive. The Psalms are great resources to guide us and to pray with in the various experiences of life, including times when we long for protection, happiness, and need to express sorrow and joy.

When I am anxious about dark moments in my life, when I long for reassurance of presence, I turn to Psalm 27: on the lips of the psalmist we hear the cry of a heart, speaking aloud to all, that God will always be ahead of us and behind us. God recognizes us and welcomes us, costumed or not.

This week, how will you wear your fear?

Transform it into trust in a God who always knows who you are?


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