Today I am linking to
In Other Words and Two Shoes Tuesday
The prompts are
In Other Words
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
Dorothy Bernard
Two Shoes Tuesday
You or I

I don’t know about you, but I have dealt with a lot of fear in my life.
Some real fears and some imagined.
Often imagined fear, the what if’s, is worse than real fear.

Anxiety is the “what if” imagined kind of fear.
I used to deal with it all the time.
Not a day went by that I wasn’t afraid of what might or could happen.
There were times I couldn’t leave my apartment.
There were panic attacks.

I knew about the power of prayer from my gramma, but I wasn’t convinced.
I thought maybe it was a coincidence when prayers were answered.
Then I gave it a shot. At that point, I figured I had nothing to lose.
At first my prayers were tentative. I was afraid to pray. “What if” it didn’t work?
Then I bargained.  I will do this or that if my fear will be taken away.
Finally, my prayers became less about how to not be afraid to how to have courage.

 I learned prayers are answered.
Maybe not instantaneously or the way I want them answered but
they are answered in the way that brings the greatest blessing.

Have I conquered fear?
No, but it doesn’t overwhelm and imprison me like it once did.
Fear and anxiety are not everyday occurrences anymore.
There are times it threatens and times it takes over but I have learned to pray
for the courage I need to face those real and imagined fears.
Now I know prayers are answered and it is not coincidence.

Image of cat: morgueFile