Do It Afraid
{Oh friends! Today you are in for such a treat. My friend Anne Watson is a firecracker for Jesus and has a bold message stirring in her heart. Collided with her a year ago at Declare Conference and was so transformed by her vivacious energy and passion. She speaks courage building words over hearts and I know she will speak those same words over yours. Believe a great deal in the message of her ministry and hope you will be encouraged by her words here today.}
I have a lot of fear. Probably more than is rational and the truth is, I absolutely hate that about myself.
Every time I stand in the security line in the airport, I fear the TSA agent will select me for a random, publicly embarrassing pat down for no other reason than ‘a look’ I have on my face. Whenever I am driving and see a policeman, even if I am going under the speed limit (it happens…occasionally) I pray obsessively that I will get away without a ticket, convinced that the cop is like a predator looking for someone to bust.This type of fear translates to more subtle areas of my life, too. Travel freaks me out because what if I pack the wrong thing or forget something? Trying new things is always scary, especially if they aren’t intuitive (ahem, cough, cough…Snapchat.) In general, I would rather take a nap than do something new. *sigh*All of these fears boil down to one thing: the potential to fail. Whether it’s in my eyes or the eyes of someone else, I am afraid to fail and attempt to structure my life in a way that reduces the failure risk by my actions. This is laughable but it implies on some level that I am in control of my own life.Let’s be honest.I fail all the time. Every single day, in fact. It’s as if failure is the marinade I swim in, the companion I cannot shake, the broken heart that constantly re-breaks and the reflection in the mirror. It feels sewn on to me like Peter Pan’s shadow. Only my shadow doesn’t try to get away from me. Oh, how I wish it did.
“Princesses wear crowns to remind them they are beautiful
and smart because some days it’s easy to forget.”
I saw this quote on a mirror at a craft show once and it got me thinking. You would think a princess would be care free, right? If that were true, however, she would never need the crown. So maybe, just maybe, she and I aren’t that different.I need a different approach to dealing with fear. I am familiar with all of the times the bible tells me not to fear and I understand the concept. In my head I know God is with me so there is no reason to worry. Still, some days it seems I am the only one who finds this difficult. I cannot describe how badly I want to kick this burden to the curb. I work hard at it and though I have wonderful moments of being fear-free ultimately I cannot do it in my own strength.What if instead of trying to get rid of this part of me that frustrates me I accepted it and worked around it instead? What would that look like? If I get stopped at the airport, maybe I can offer a word of encouragement to the TSA agent. If I get pulled over, I can check my social media while the cop writes the ticket. If I forget something while traveling, I can get creative or simply do without. If I attempt new things and mess them up, I have the option to get help or move on. What if every time I looked in the mirror, I imagined myself wearing a crown? After all I am daughter of the Most High King so that does in fact make me a princess. (Grin.) Even now I can feel the pressure lift from my shoulders.Life is not about getting rid of fear. It’s about moving forward in spite of it.Fear itself cannot hurt me. It’s just fear; an emotion that is often a liar. What hurts is when I kowtow to it. I miss all of the glorious things God has in store for me by living this strange half-life.Life is an adventure meant to be embraced and enjoyed. Sure, bad things happen but I cannot stop even one thing with my fear. Whatever is lies before me I must do it afraid.I need one more precious thing before I set out on my next life adventure, whether it’s climbing a mountain or heading to the grocery store or starting a new blog. I need grace for myself. Vats of it. Heaps of it. Tons of it.Rather than try to get rid of anything that worries me, I will focus on my new approach.
Do it afraid. Have grace.
If this has ever been an area of struggle for you, won’t you join me? Imagine what God could have in store for each of us if we started living this boldly. I can hardly wait to find out! 
Anne Watson is a fresh voice in women's ministry. As a former perfectionist and sleep-in-on-Sundays girl, Anne is passionate about helping women love themselves for real. With humor, wit and biblical insight, Anne helps women connect the dots between God and their everyday lives. Read more from Anne at GodDots.com.
