Fear

[caressa]

THIS LADY'S CHOICE WAS ____(FILL IN THE BLANK AFTER READING THE STORY)

Fear is a part of everyone’s life. To really live, we have to face down our fears.

One of my absolutely favorite true stories about the power of fear is the story of the lady who filled her car with her groceries.

The bags were all packed in the seat behind her.

When the lady got into her car to drive home, she heard a loud pop! “I’ve been shot!” she said. She reached behind her head and felt her brains dripping down her neck. She passed out.

She was awakened shortly by a man knocking on her car window. “Are you OK?” he asked. She responded: “No, I’ve been shot. Call the police!”

When the police arrived, they examined her and the car carefully.

Finally, an officer said to her: “Ma’am, you haven’t been shot! The popping sound you heard was not a gun, but your Pillsbury dough can exploding behind you. What you thought were your brains dripping was simply the dough pouring down your neck!”

Ultimately, life is a choice between love and fear.

Fear keeps us in prisons of anxiety and guilt and shame and blame.

Love frees us for peace and pardon and joy and forgiveness. Love is God’s gift. Fear comes from the dark side.

Fear reminds us that we are fragile and one day will die.

Love reminds us that we are made in God’s image

Received with thanks from my friend AJ

Attachments:

[caressa]

Fear kept me sick for a long time. At times it paralized me and stopped me from moving forward. It kept me in an abusive relationship, it kept me using, it kept me from doing a Fourth and Fifth Step.

My whole life was fear based. I had to replace that fear with faith. Not only faith in a Higher Power, but faith in the program and that it would work for me. I had to let go of the fear of taking the next step. Let go of saying and doing the wrong thing. Let go fear of rejection and abandonment.

It was the love that I received from the fellowship, who loved me until I could learn to love myself, that kept me coming and supporting me until I could come to believe and love myself.

As they say, fear and faith can't occupy the same space. When I find myself in fear, I need to realize that I am not trusting my God. As my sponsor use to say, "If you are not trusting yourself, you are not trusting your Higher Power.

Not sure what the blank should be, but my thought was 'guilt'. What we think we attract to us. If we live in fear, we bring things to us to fear.

[caressa222]

What we put out, returns to us. When you come from a place of love, good things are returned to you, not always from the person you gave to. They may be incapable of the kind of love you need, but it will be given to you in a way that is for your Higher Good.