As you well know, I have been struggling with worry lately and my reading of this new book, Cold Tangerines, has done wonders for me in the ways of inspiration and upkeep of my faith, adding simple reminders of how good life is and how grateful I truly am.

A lot of my worry comes from fear. I always say that I know it is wrong to live in fear, but my mere act of speaking that knowledge does not magically make the worry and fear go away.

I even spoke to my pastor friend in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania this morning. When he asked how he could be praying for me, one of the things I mentioned was my desire to be relieved of my excessive fear and worry. I told him I knew that all I had to do was give it to God. But then I immediately declared that it is so much easier to say it than actually do it. To which my friend, Prakash, replied in his wonderful Indian accent, “Yes, my dear, you must give it all to Him. That is what he wants. He loves that stuff!”

Last night as I was reading my book, I came across a paragraph on page 128 that particularly spoke to me and I thought I would share it with you here:  Ok? So here we go…

“What gives me hope is the belief that God will be faithful, because He has been faithful before, to me and the people around me. I need the reminders. I need to be told that He was faithful then, and then, and then. Just because I have forgotten how to see doesn’t mean it isn’t there. His goodness is there. His promises have been kept. All I need to do is see. 

So when I’m on the edge, peering over into the unknown, trembling and terrified to move forward, devastatingly afraid to take that next step, I practice believing that full  life is beyond the fear…”

It’s right there, friends, just beyond the fear. Full Life. Perhaps it only takes a small jaunt to get there. Perhaps longer. It could be right at my finger tips if I would just let it be. And besides, I have God on my side-waiting for me to hand it over. I need to. After all, He loves that stuff!