Fear Factor

My mom was a fearful woman.  She had many worries.  But she was determined that her children would not be afraid of anything.  I must have known this from the womb.  When I was two I jumped off of a dock at a lake and tried to swim to my mom.  My uncle Ernest jumped in with clothes and shoes on and saved me.  He thought that I wouldn’t do it again as I had probably learned my lesson.  But no, I jumped in again.

When I was about nine or ten I prided myself in never letting the boys see me afraid or screaming.  If I had a frog or snake suddenly thrust at me I held my ground and smiled. 

As a teen I was self-congratulatory when I could figure out the Alfred Hitchcock plot and not succumb to any fear.  My dad and I enjoyed watching the TV show “Mannix” and betting on how many times Mannix would be hit on the head.

Another time a teen cousin tried to make me scream on a ride at Natatorium amusement park in Spokane, WA. The ride cage we were in could be tipped upside down and he proceeded to do so.  I didn’t let out a peep.  I held those who screamed on the roller coaster ride in disdain. I don’t know what it was in me but I didn’t care to be emotional—maybe it was my British ancestry—stiff upper lip and all that, or just pleasing my mother.

But all of this was done in my own strength.  I needed the Holy Spirit to help me when I was in high school and I wished to obey the scripture in Matthew 10: 32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

I was wary of joining the Bible club at Groveton high school and being associated with the Bible nerds.  But finally as a senior I joined.  I even rang the bell in the high school cafeteria and led the prayer before lunch.

Today many Christians are afraid to stand for Jesus because they are more afraid of man then they are of God.  I read two blogs this week that I liked.  The first one was written by a missionary to Africa and told of her non-conformity.  Click here to read.

The second blog was on Randy Alcorn’s blog.  Click here to read.

How have you gone against the flow?