Does Fear control you? Let it go!

            “You were not designed to cope but to thrive.”   –Henry Cloud in Necessary Endings   Have you seen the movie Frozen?   My kids LOVE this movie! They would watch it 15 times a day if they could… So, needless to say, I have seen it A LOT in the past month.  Yesterday, we were driving, and the movie was playing in the car, and my husband brought up the most amazing points about this movie that hit home.   I’ll talk more about those points in a minute, but two other connections hit me today about fear and I had to share my heart: 1) It is at the end of our week focusing on “courage” in P31 Fitness.  Getting rid of the fears inside, and living a courageous life.   2) I am reading a book that talked about ending things in our life that are holding us back.  I am learning that often we resist the changes we need to make, even though they would be good for us.   We know we must change if we are going to end the misery of the present and get to the future we desire. The thing that normally holds us back is fear.  Fear lives inside of us, but are we going to let it control us?The interesting thing about fear, is that it is often not the fear of the things around us, but the fear within ourselves.  The fear of what we are actually capable of accomplishing with our strengths.   Here is where the awesome points from my husband came in from the movie “Frozen”.  There are some HUGE parallels to our own lives. When Elsa was a young girl, she used her magical powers for fun!  Her and Anna would build snowmen, play, laugh…..but when fear crept in and she saw that she had hurt Anna, her powers began to cause her to freeze things.  Her parents couldn’t open the door (they had to bust through) because of the ice that the fear created.   When they rushed her to the Troll, he fixed Anna but then told Elsa that fear would be her enemy and she must conceal it, not feel it.   She was told that her magic comes with great POWER, but also great DANGER.   From that point forward, she lived in fear and she let the negative rule her life.   She hid (concealed it) and wouldn’t let anyone in! As soon as it was revealed, the fear started to overcome her (she froze everything she touched).  But then, her fears, in a sense, brought great freedom.  She ran away, by herself, embraced her abilities, and truly began to experience the beauty of her powers.  She was only able to do this because she had a breakthrough…”Let it go”… It is interesting that when she stopped letting the fear control her every move and started living – the powers inside of her became a thing of beauty.   She was FREE.   However, the moment that she let fear creep back in, (Anna coming and telling her that she had caused an eternal winter), that is when her powers again became something fierce and hurtful to others.  She just wanted to hide. She didn’t realize that she could use this power inside of her as a thing of beauty and not of hurt.  That is until an act of true love from her sister changed her.  Her heart was opened to others and she was able to see the beauty in her strengths.      That is just like us….when we conceal our power that God has given to us, we will live in a state of fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of ___________.  BUT, if we will release that power and let it go, we will find that it can be a great thing of beauty to serve those around us each day. What are you fearing today?  What is the fear in your heart causing you to do in life?  What is the fear in your heart causing you to BE?  Do you like the person you are?   I know for me, I have to work on this every day.  My fears can control me and cause me to hold onto things and hide away.  My fears can easily lead me to be someone I don’t want to be.  It is a daily battle, and one that I am intentionally working on each day. What I am learning is that in the process of letting these fears go, and letting LOVE heal me that I am finding great beauty in my life.   I am finally able to stop “concealing” and start feeling again.  I am able to truly “Let it go” and not hold it back any more.  Who I am is who God made me to be.  Who I am is good enough.  Who I am does not need to be hidden.  Who I am is always enough…. “The fears that once controlled me, can’t get to me at all.  It’s time to see what I can do, test the limits and break through….I’m free!!” LET IT GO!       ]]>