Faith Over Fear

Sunday, one of my good friends was given a new, very involved responsibility at church.  As she stood to bear her testimony that day, she explained that for the past school year, she has encouraged her son in his cello lessons by telling him, "You can do hard things."  And until she was asked to take on this responsibility, she didn't realize how much the motto chosen for her son was preparing her for what was to come in her own life. 

Lately, I feel like I've been shying away from hard things.  It's not that I made a habit of seeking out challenges, because who in their right mind really wants hard times?  But, in the past, I have felt confident in my ablities to take on challenges. And now?  Just the thought of encountering something just a little bit difficult makes me want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.  Even to myself, as the person who knows my own weaknesses so well, this doesn't sound like me.  I wonder how I got here?  And why, when life is so good, (because, really, it is), do I feel the most scared that something is going to go horribly wrong?

It happens that this realization has come about exactly as I have been working on my Personal Progress along with the Young Women in my ward.  Last week, I started studying the value of faith.  And it has been such a strengthening experience for me.  It's not that I don't have faith.  I do. If I've learned anything in my study, it's that I do have faith.  It's just that I've come to the realization that I have been choosing fear over faith as I make choices I know are right with a sense of trepidation instead of joy.  That I have been choosing to fear what could happen, instead of having faith in the rock-solid doctrines that I know.

This morning, my not-quite-2-year old asked for a "nack" (snack).  I pulled a stick of string cheese from the dairy drawer in the fridge and handed it to him.  He worked and tugged and exerted so much effort just to open his cheese.  But, he did it.  Without any help at all.  And immediately, the thought came to me that when we are younger, we welcome the challenges.  In fact, we will take on whatever we encounter simply because we CAN.  We want to show that we are capable of doing hard things. And, as we make our best attempts at handling hard things, our pasrents are watching over us--ready to help as soon as we ask.

I need to take this simple lesson from my youngest child and relish in the fact that I have been blessed with the knowledge, tools, and relationships necessary to successfully navigate the challenges in life.  If I somehow feel ill-equipped, there are many (seen and unseen) who can help me find the tools I need. Just like I was willing to help my son as soon he might ask, our Savior is willing to step in and help us the moment we call on Him.  With this reminder, I will continue to trust in the knowledge I have and refocus (once again) on choosing faith over fear.