Fear Not

One of the greatest obstacles I've had to overcome (and continue to work on) as a widow is fear. It manifests itself in so many different ways that it can and has snuck up on me more times than I care to recall. I know that fear is an enemy to humanity so my situation isn't unique, it's simply my situation so it's more personal to me right this moment. The word of God declares that "perfect love" casts out fear. The only way to access perfect love is to remain in contact with God on a perpetual basis. We are told to pray without ceasing. We mustn't shun this advice out of religious ideology regarding prayer. Prayer is both worship and communication with God through His spirit. If we take on the attitude that we are talking to God with every word we speak our words will be better chosen. God promises to "inhabit" the praises of His people. If our words are carefully chosen and we regularly thank God for those things He HAS promised in His word we line ourselves up to receive answers from Him. Perfect love speaks of completion and maturity. When we read 1 Corinthians 13 and run through the list of love it's obvious that love takes self control on a higher or more mature level. We grow as we act upon the word. The more patience and long suffering we practice, the more we will have to give. Love is patient. Patience isn't putting up with a given situation, but putting faith in God to confirm His word with signs following. Just as a farmer sows seeds and is patient for the harvest knowing if he tends the seed he WILL reap a harvest. We patiently wait for God's word to produce a harvest once we've sown the seed and tended it. In time we will reap IF we faint not. God fully expects His word to produce. We too must trust His seed to do what He sent it to do. Mark 9:23 tells us, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes". Widows are faced with what seems like unending sorrow and impossible situations. Our souls are rent when our husbands die. Surreal is how our situations feel so much of the time. People don't want to be faced with the sorrow and suffering we are experiencing so they tend to hide from us. There are those, however, who go out of their way to help the widow. God puts something special in those people. Thank God for these special gifts to the Body!!! I am confident I will survive widowhood and join the ranks of successful single folks across the planet. The journey gets easier with each passing day. As I speak to other widows I can see that this road is a tough one, but not insurmountable! I believe I will come out on the positive side of this valley of the shadow of death for with God on my side I shall fear NO evil. Praise His Holy name - love never fails.