Boo!

Do you ever feel like you’re outgrowing your place in life and would like to move on, but you don’t go anywhere because of _____? You can keep the word you would use to finish that sentence to yourself. But you know what it is. I think for me, fear completes the thought. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of heartbreak. Just garden variety fear.

You know it’s October at Walmart because Halloween throws up all over everything. There are skeletons that sing ‘Monster Mash.’ There are candy bowls with hands that grab yours when you reach in for a treat. There’s a barrage of must-haves ranging from ridiculously gross (a giant rat) to the ridiculously stupid (a beer mug costume?). People around here decorate their front lawns with fake headstones, hands coming out of the ground, inflatable one-eyed goblins and other oddities that makes the homeowners association cringe. It’s a windfall for the movie studios who crank out mindless horror movies (whose trailers incidentally attack my television when my kids are watching...not cool). Halloween is big bucks.

But my question is how did a day that capitalizes on scaring us become so popular? Do you like being spooked? I definitely do not. But it isn’t just ghosts and demons and such that are capable of causing me to shake in my Adidases.

I run in fright from things that I pray for when they actually show up.

Like opportunities to grow in my career. I prayed for concerts and four fell in my lap. In October alone. I’ve been praying for a deeper faith, so of course, I’m faced with situations where I have the chance to exercise the faith I have. Financial hurdles, relationship challenges and personal growth opportunities. I guess the adage about being careful what you pray for applies.

So now I’m trying to gather my nerve, preparing to succeed at something I’ve dreamed of for a really long time. Why is that so scary? It’s what I prayed for after all. Can’t say for sure, but I’m gonna try conquering my hesitations one at a time until I’ve become the person I’ve prayed to become. Confident, self-aware and free of these nagging fears.

So if you’re like me, I’m challenging you to fight the urge to pull those covers over your head. Open the curtains and open your heart. Step around that thing that stands in your way and get on with it. Trust God, collect your courage and shed the fear.

And as for Halloween, the only thing that might get you is someone else’s bad taste.