TranSpirations: Overcoming Fear

Tom’s Journal-January 13, 2008
I ponder these tests to see if and when I may need to have my heart renewed with a new aortic valve. If I have to go through this, my life will be changed, certainly. Maybe for the best, I muse……Good things; great things can come from adversity. Maybe I’ll see my future more clearly. Priorities will be determined. The doc says I’ll have 20 plus years before my heart will give out—maybe longer as new things develop. That sounds encouraging.
I think I’ve had three tests in the past month. and It’s curious as I lay waiting for new pictures of my heart, I continue to be calm. Why? God is somehow connected here. I reflect on Psalms 23 and 42, favorites for many years.

“He leadeth me by still waters; he restores my soul.” 23

“Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” 42

Reflections for Work

Paula D’Arcy helps us understand overcoming fear. “I was witnessing the nature of fear. Gripped by fear, I’ve sometimes stayed in dim rooms and dark corners—like clinging to transitions that have bound me and have fallen into patterns that brought no joy. I never saw as I wandered in those dark and lonely spaces, that freedom was one step away, or that the Spirit could lead me to larger places.”

Sometimes we have to trust our spirit as we face challenges. When we do, we find ourselves doing things in different ways—maybe more effective ways. We find the mentor we’ve been missing; maybe we prepare for the meeting with more rigor and scholarship; or reach out to new leadership in our profession. Possibly we decide to step back and take time to rest before moving on to the next job.

Ponder:

How do you stay calm in crises at work?

What’s the silver lining as you’re viewing this change in job, career or retirement?

What are the means you have to access the Spirit and free yourself from the dark and lonely places you may be in?