Tackling Two (Irrational) Fears

I’m continuing to prep for my women’s retreat this weekend (“Fear Not”) and sometimes I’m just laid out on my face before the Lord over the profound, applicable truths that God is graciously helping me to unearth and begin to understand. But in addition to the “deep stuff,” I’m also chuckling over and truly enjoying some of the fears that God is not only helping me to see in my own life, but also to overcome. Today, I’d like to tell you about two of them …

First of all, it was only a few years ago (I’m 45) that I made mashed potatoes all by myself. Without any help or coaching. I didn’t even look at a recipe!

Now, I know that to some of you that will sound ridiculously stupid. “Who can’t make mashed potatoes? They’re SO easy! You just put the potatoes in a pot and mix ’em up with milk and butter. Done!” To that response, and with my chest just a little tighter (adrenaline/anxiety reaction!) even just THINKING about making mashed potatoes, I gently say back ….

“Uh-huh. And I’ve heard that there are some people in the world who aren’t really comfortable speaking in front of people. Yeah. Isn’t it weird? You just pray, prep, grab your Bible, switch on your lapel mic, and GO! It’s SO EASY. (And yet 95% of people fear public speaking and most them fear it more than DEATH. Weird, eh?)”

Listen, we all have our weirdness and our peculiarities and our fears. We all make some mole hills into mental and emotional mountains. Some of us don’t sing in public. Ever. Some of us HAVE TO be the driver of the car or else we go CRAZY feeling so out of control (especially with certain drivers!). I know big, strong men who squeal like little girls when they see a teeny-tiny spider. Some of you marvel that we love to SCUBA dive (“But the sharks!” “I’d feel claustrophobic under all of that water!” … And yet Fred and I LOVE seeing sharks and we revel in the freedom of weightless and the joy of FLYING under all that water); but then you rugged folk love to hike in bear country and don’t even BLINK (“Oh, there was a sweet brown bear on the path in front of me just stripping huckleberries with his paws; I gave him a little swat on the behind with my hat and he just moseyed out of the way.” (!!!!!!!) HUH?! Are you KIDDING me?!). Some of you feel afraid in a big city; some of us love a good Hilton and an excellent concierge.

We all have our “thing.” And tackling mashed potatoes was, for me, a great accomplishment. (Not that I’ve done it since, mind you. But I DID do it once!)

And here is my SECOND “thing” that God has helped me to happily tackle … (drum roll please!) ….

I made SOUP. Yup. Me. Tara. MADE SOUP. And no, I didn’t just pour soup from a can into a pot. I’ve been doing that my entire life and it DOESN’T COUNT.

This time (it was part of Sophie’s “plan, shop, prep, serve one meal a week” school task, I actually cut up FRESH ingredients (or helped my seven year old to do so), added them to a pot, brought it all to a boil, and then ATE IT:

Again. Please know that I am fully aware that to most of you this has just about as much “WOW!” factor as putting on your socks in the morning. But please … try to put MY struggle/weaknesses in the context of YOUR struggle/weakness and then join me in saying, “Hooray! And Yay, God! Thank You, Lord, for helping Tara!” Because I have to tell you—YOU WERE ALL RIGHT. 100% correct. It’s really not that big of a deal. I think I can actually make soup! And I’m really excited about this because a) it’s so healthy; b) it’s good stewardship; c) I love seeing all of the fresh ingredients go in; d) it’s super EASY; and e) it’s SO PRETTY. 🙂

So here’s my official request for your tasty soup recipes! I’m particularly interested in the ones that cook slowly all day long in a crock pot and mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! make your house feel all homey and domestic. I had one once at a restaurant that had a red meat in it and some sort of red wine base that was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I tried to find it on the internet, but there are too many options. My (still tempted to get a little scared) brain just sort of fritzed out at all of the choices. But if you have any that you love, please email me or leave me a comment or FaceBook note. I’d LOVE to have homemade soup become a part of our family’s meal repertoire.

OK. Must scoot now. Apparently walking pneumonia no longer wins the sickest family member award around here now … Fred, Sophie and Ella are all really (really) sick too. So I need to tend to them.

Before I go, I do want to point you in the direction of a much more serious topic re: fears … ANXIETY ATTACKS (or sometimes called PANIC ATTACKS). You may have already experienced this personally and not known what it was OR you may have been around someone experiencing this and not known what to do … or maybe it’s something you’ll face in the future. I want you to be ready! Because when a person is having a panic attack, she thinks she’s going crazy and often thinks she is going to die. It’s often a call 9-1-1 situation, but it doesn’t have to be. Please listen to this series from David Powlison and you’ll learn about this important topic:

Panic Attacks: A Counseling Case Study

Thanks, friends. Happy Tuesday to you all!

Yours,
Tara B.

PS
A GREAT book on the topics of fear and anxiety is Ed Welch’s, Running Scared. I highly recommend it!