“It’s me. I’m here. Don’t be afraid”

My daughter loves role playing. Most times there is a story running in her head, whether she is drawing or playing with Legos, or playdough or even just singing. When she finishes a drawing and brings it to me, it’s always very interesting and fun to listen to her as she explains what she has drawn. There is a story there. Even when she sings, she sometimes changes the words and adds her own story there and it’s pretty interesting and amusing to listen to that.

This role playing is a big part of her play time too. So we are at this indoor playground and there’s this big maze kind of an area to climb, jump, crawl, with rope bridges, rope ladders and so much more. My daughter loves running around this place. She drags me along to run around with her. And then she’s like – ‘Mama, you can be the big bad wolf’. For whatever reasons, I am mostly the bad guy. I’m either the big bad wolf, or the troll (from the billy goats gruff), or the bad monsters (not just a monster, a ‘bad’ monster!!). Let’s hope it’s just because I have to do the chasing and for no other reason! :D

But anyways, so I am the big bad wolf and she and her friends are the piggies and I have to run after them and catch them. They are small and so flexible and it’s easy for them to run and crawl through the small spaces and they are much ahead of me mostly as I run after them. 

My daughter is all laughs and giggles and squeals and screams as she runs with her friends. Sometimes when I get too close, I slow down and pretend like she’s just escaped from my grasp. And you should hear the loud squeal as she runs away, thinking she’s very cleverly escaped.

But every once in a while, I think the role playing gets very real to her. She’s sometimes so lost in this world, that the line between imagination and reality is lost, and suddenly it feels real to her. So sometimes as I run behind her with my fingers out like claws, growling (No, wolves don’t growl, I need to remember to howl like a wolf next time, I don’t want my daughter growing up thinking wolves growl), and shouting –‘I am going to catch you’ ’I am going to eat you’, I sometimes see she gets worried. She stops running and turns to look at me and goes – ‘Mamma?’. Initially I didn’t know that it sometimes got a little real to her. But now I do. So now I stop my ‘big bad wolf’ act and turn back into ‘Mama’, and we laugh and tickle and laugh and snuggle a bit, before she says –‘Mama, now you can be the troll’, and the running chasing starts again.

What if our fear is an illusion too? What if it isn’t real? What if the truth is greater? Greater than our fear?

When Jesus walked towards the boat in which his disciples were, in the dark of the night. They were afraid and Jesus said to them, “It is I, don’t be afraid”.

What if we realised that behind every fear, stood Jesus saying, “It’s me. I’m here. Don’t be afraid”??

God is bigger than my fears. If I am truly aware of that, isn’t my fear much smaller than it seems to be. Combat fear with faith. And no matter how afraid you are, do it afraid. You may be shivering with fright, but take that step to move forward. Don’t let fear hold you back. I think most situation get blown up more than it is, by fear, which is what makes me think of fear more as an illusion. At such times I like to remember that God understands and stands with me saying, “It is me. I am here. Don’t be afraid”. 

John 6:20 - They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, “It’s me. It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” (MSG)

Matthew 14:27 - But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” (MSG)

Isaiah 41:10 - ‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;
I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’ (AMP)