Sunday, June 12, 2011

Fear never wrote a book.

Courage did.  Faith did.

Those are the words of Max Lucado.  You can take the words 'wrote a book' out and put in anything you want... started a business, dealt with a painful past, repaired a broken marriage, admitted to a deep sin.  You know what you need to put in there. For me it is obviously writing a book.

I am not afraid to write them.  I am afraid to admit to them and make them known.  However I will admit pasting online a work in progress (or WIP for those in the 'Biz') was a huge step in the right direction.  And I'm not done writing it.  I know some of you may be wondering what is going on.  It has been weeks since I posted the last partial page.  However I guess I am taking a breather.  A chance to sit back and listen to the sound of hope as it rises up from the accomplishments I've made.  Sound cheesy?

Well, here's cheesy for you.


I was driving my daughter to Youth camp on Friday.  We were headed West.  For those of you who don't live where I live, West is like Oz.  The terrain is spectacular and the view makes it hard to watch the road.  This is the closest picture I could find - except the colours were different - many shades of vibrant, rich greens.


As I was driving along it suddenly began to rain big heavy raindrops.  The type you can see coming for you many feet away.



After dropping my daughter off I started the trek back home.  By now the rumble of the thunder was shaking the very foundation I drove on.  It resounded a terror - in the coolest sense.    The skies were grey and dark where I was but where I was headed was still bright outside.  The roads emitted a mist to give the road an eerie, mystical feel.



This was the first Summer Storm for our area.  A hot day, then an electric show!  However aside from being the first it held a whole new meaning for me.  As I drove along the twisty roads, dodging fist-sized raindrops, I saw a rainbow.  It was beautiful.  It covered the sky from north to south, arching over vast distances of trees. The unique thing about this rainbow was it wasn't missing a single piece.  It was complete.  From one side of the sky to the other I could point out and name all seven colours.

Red, green, blue ... all the way through to violet.  It looked as though a child had drawn it.



I felt so blessed as I watched the sights unfolding before my eyes. Then beyond the perfect rainbow, flashing in the bright early evening sky was a bolt of lightning.  It snapped out of the heavens straight to earth.  This is not the typical kind of lightning we see around here.  It seems like we are more prone to the sheet lightning.  So this was a treat.



Then as my road winded towards home and I cleared the trees, the rainbow disappeared, the raindrops ceased and the lightning cracked in my rear view mirror.  I was out of the storm.

How many times in my life have I hated the storm?  Or wished it away?  Or better yet, how many times have I marveled at the storm?  Friday I marveled.  It reminded me of a current song on the radio.  (Of course, you might be saying.  LOL)




So, I do have a train of thought here ... just bear with me.

I found myself listening to the sound of the rain and the thunder as the mist rose up around my tires.  I felt surrounded. But there was peace. Whatever storm you find yourself in, you can always find the Hand of Peace.  Just look.  Just listen.

Listen to the sound of hope that's rising up, over your old horizon.
Listen to the sound of a new beginning.  This is where the old is ending.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

Amazing hope that is rising!

Don't let fear hold you down and smother you in the storms of life.  Let faith, courage and hope rise up from the puddles and bring you a new beginning.  This is my advice to Cathie (my main character).  This is my advice to you.

This is my advice to me.


(The pictures above are not mine.  I take no credit.  They are compliments of Google images.)

3 comments:

  1. What a lovely post, Jodi! Feeling smothered by fear is what I am constantly battling. Just as one fear is conquered, another one springs up to wrestle me to the ground. Although logically I know I'm moving forward, I "feel" as if I'm standing still, or worse, moving backwards.

    I'm so glad I followed your link over here. It was exactly what I needed to read. :) In fact, I'm going to send your link to two friends who I think may also appreciate this post.

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  2. I am glad it spoke to you Bridgette. I find fear to be a common theme for me as I journey through this maze of learning to write. It really is nice to do it in community! Thanks for your honesty.

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  3. It is amazing how peace presents itself—in the most unassuming ways. That sense of peace and freedom from fear certainly can be empowering and to me it seems to happen when I least expect empowerment! luv mom

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