Just kidding. I am. And I’m not.
Fear is everywhere. There’s enough to go around the world a few times over. And we all say, “Not me.” We’re all the tough ones. The ones a novel virus named COVID-19 can’t touch. The ones who run out in the snow barefoot and in shorts. The ones who scoff at sharks swimming with us in the ocean.
But there’s always something isn’t there? We don’t like to admit it. We probably wouldn’t admit it. But we’ve all got that nagging fear at the back of our minds, threatening to make us go out and buy ALL the toilet paper.
I’d like to say I’m not one of them, but I care about the sharks swimming with me, I will not go out in the snow in shorts, and with a chronic and autoimmune illness, I’ve not been the healthiest of all healthy people in the world, so that virus could make me quite sick.
So why do I say I’m not afraid of the dark (and then admit that I am)?
Because I overcame the challenges that tried to hold me back and am still overcoming daily.
I thought I might drown, but didn’t. I thought I couldn’t bear the pain, but I did. I thought I wouldn’t be able to press forward, but I did. Not on my own, maybe not gracefully, but with the help of good friends and a good God. I acknowledge that when I didn’t have my own strength, when I was at my end, all of my help came from God. He gets the glory from me.
I believe it. Maybe you don’t. That’s ok.
I’m willing to bet you’ve won a time or two, too, even if winning didn’t look like you expected.
This is why I think we should all make a Grit List.
In what ways are you full of moxie and grit? Don’t tell me you’re not. I don’t believe there’s a single person who hasn’t overcome SOMEthing. You have. And you need to remember it. Go ahead and make a list of all the little and big things you kicked in the booty (even if they kicked yours back). When did you GET BACK UP when you didn’t know if you could?
I know for some of you, it might be hard. Maybe you think the little things don’t count. They do. List them all.
A lot of times I find it hard to give myself credit where the credit is so obviously God’s. For some of you, that’s not an issue, but it is with me. Then I remember WHO did God use to get me through it? Whose body did he strengthen? Whose heart did he heal? It was mine. He did it with me. And he’s doing it with you. So let’s call it OUR Grit List.
Then, when the darkness falls and fear tries to take over, you will have a torch of light you take out and carry with you to keep going. You can wave it around and shout at the darkness, “This is the reason you can’t stop me! This is the reason I can still see!”
I’ve got a Grit List. That’s why I’m not afraid of the dark (mostly).
