Fear of Flying, Olympic Bobsleds and Me.

About 6 months ago my husband told me he felt God's call on our life to start a church in New England. (Read more about that here and here) Three things immediately popped in my head... I don't like to be cold, I ABSOLUTELY hate to fly, and I don't want to move away from our family.

And then I cried.....a lot.

I cried because I knew this wasn't just an idea, or a "some-day" idea. This wasn't just God calling our family to an unknown area of the country or far away from our friends and family. This was God nudging me to conquer my fears. The fears that only He knew consumed my heart and quite often took over my body. Fears that could have me completely paralyzed inside.

Was this fear selfish? Yes.

Did I know it was unnecessary? Of course.

Was it real? Absolutely!

It wasn't just my fear of flying or my fear of falling, or my fear of heights all together.

It was my fear of the unknown, what was out-of-my-control.

It wasn't just the fear of being alone or the fear of being uncomfortable.

It was the fear of letting go.

I knew that I needed to let go of what is keeping me from growing closer to Him. My grip was just too tight.

But as always, God is faithful and persistent! (and much stronger than my grip) He knew I needed to be pushed, if not thrown off the edge. So thats just what happened!

Our first trip up north was last weekend. We met up with a team to serve during the World Championship Bobsled/Skeleton Races and tour the town (and surrounding area) of Lake Placid, New York.

We got to experience LOTS of snow/cold (the most snow they had seen all winter, which is rare), small planes (I am talking 10 people, 1 of them is the pilot) and lost luggage (due to the weight capacity of said plane) all in the first 24 hours of our arrival.

I should have been freaking out, in fact my husband was probably confused because I was not. I owned the one hour and forty-five minute plane ride with 6 strangers and two pilots who could not see the sky in front of them and I lived to tell about it! ;)

For the first time in a long time, God was completely in control of my life. I was at peace. I was completely calm. Something that I can't explain but am so thankful for.

This peace allowed me to enjoy the beauty of the town we were visiting. I was able to soak up the time spent with my husband (kid free), learning about potential opportunities and discerning God's direction. I could appreciate the time spent serving the Olympic athletes, judges, coaches and getting to meet people from around the world, I probably would have never met otherwise.

Our time spent together was unreal. The people we met were wonderfully passionate about Jesus. And I am forever changed by how God met me in Lake Placid.

Who knew?!

"Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ."

-Sheila Walsh