Tight Ropes

Do you ever feel like you are balancing on a rope suspended 300 feet in the air without a safety net?

Life hits us square in the jaw sometimes and we are left teetering with that fear that threatens to knock us over. If you have learned to manage fear, then you can breathe a little, stop, pray, ask questions and seek answers before you fall. If you haven’t you might mentally chase the rabbit right into the corner of despair.

What is fear? fear is a threat of harm real or imagined. It is the anticipation of danger. It can be the immediate feeling of panic, agitation, alarm, horror, trepidation, anxiety, stress, apprehension. A feeling of unrest or uneasiness.

What do you fear? Do you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, worry? How many times do you cower internally when something happens again or something you have anticipated comes to fruition? Fear is real, but fear is not from God.

This is something I have grappled with through my tumultuous childhood, marriage, single motherhood, abuse, other’s addictions, financial struggles. The list could be endless, and I know so many who stand on tight ropes without a safety net.

At one time, the phone ringing late at night was a trigger for me. I had the Fort Worth police department phone number memorized. These events triggered much shame, regret, worry, anticipation. At one time, I feared going home. There were times when just waking up was difficult.

When I lay on the floor in 1995 holding my infant baby, with my three-year-old beside me, I collided with Susanne and truly found my footing. You know I was a relatively good girl compared to all those others in my life. However, I discovered my sinfulness and my salvation in Jesus. “Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death, Jesus Christ my Lord.”

I put on the armor of God: The sword of the spirit (God’s word, the Bible), the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shoes of the gospel of peace. This is a discovery of balance. This is what will stifle your fear and empower you to walk across that rope with the security of a future in paradise.

Many things trigger a fear response for me. The sound of a loud truck in the middle of the night. Unable to focus in the dark, and the chair might look like a person looking at you. Red trucks with big wheels. A phone call from the past. The tone of a customer who spews derogatory, unnecessary rhetoric in your ear blaming you for their problems. My list is long. Trauma response is a reality in my life.

The scripture 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Fear is not from God. We have the power as believers of love and a sound mind. So, if you are chasing rabbits, bring your focus back to the center: put on your armor. You are a warrior.

I have a physiological response to things like this. Most people do, some more than others. We walk tight ropes. Fight-or-flight response is where your heart rate increases, blood pressure increases, muscles tense up, breathing increases, pupils widen. You could break out into a sweat. You could shut down completely mentally. You might get headaches, get the shakes, have memory problems. You can become depressed, have panic attacks, be oversensitive.

However, when you give it all to God, these responses lessen in intensity. You can more quickly regain that balance.

How do I do it?

1. Pray to God to show you the truth. It is not “that” truck. It is just a pile of clothes. Your life is not over.

2. Worship. I listen to songs that fill me up and remind me who I am, who is in control. Who God is in my life.

3. Breathe deeply, dig your toes in the carpet(grounding). Swim laps. Sit in the quiet. Stroke the cat.

4. Find scriptures that reveal truth to what you are going through. Scripture says, ” Be anxious for nothing, but, in prayer and supplication, submit your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

5. Remember who is the author of fear and tell him to get behind you. He does not have power in your house of God. Mind, Body, or Soul.

Some fear is real, and it is there to protect you from harm. God always keeps me abreast of what is happening in my former abusers lives. This allows me a reprieve, from those real fears that are possible. Use that amazing head space to trust God in all aspects of fear, and all the physiological responses real or not will materialize with a reality based on truth and give you peace.

Tight ropes are nothing but tactics of the enemy to get your mind off the security promised to us when we sit in the palm of his hand.  Faith is trusting him to catch us in the safety net securely placed in the reality of our fears.

Stay Beautiful

Susanne