Boo!

[bluidkiti]

Boo! By Julie Ackerman Link

[God] will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. —Isaiah 30:19

One of the early games that many parents play with their children involves a fake scare. Dad hides his face behind his hands and suddenly reveals himself while saying, “Boo!” The child giggles at this silliness.

Being frightened is a fun game until the day when the child experiences a real scare. Then it’s no laughing matter. The first real scare often involves separation from a parent. The child wanders away innocently, moving from one attraction to another. But as soon as she realizes she is lost, she panics and lets out a loud cry of alarm. The parent immediately comes running to reassure the child that she is not alone.

As we get older, our fake scares become sophisticated—scary books, movies, amusement park rides. Being scared is so invigorating that we may begin taking bigger risks for bigger thrills.

But when a real scare comes, we may realize that we, like the ancient Israelites (Isa. 30), have wandered from the One who loves and cares for us. Recognizing that we are in danger, we panic. Our call for help does not require sophisticated words or a well-reasoned defense, just a desperate cry.

Like a loving parent, God responds quickly for He longs to have us live in the protection of His love where we need never be afraid.

Trusting God’s faithfulness helps dispel our fearfulness.

[MajestyJo]

How many of us experienced fear of the boogeymen. Not realizing a lot of it was old tapes going back to our childhood.

I grew up thinking I was a bad girl, because I called to my brother and he was coming to me when he was killed. I was 3 and he was 2. I had dark hair with brown eyes and he had blonde hair and blue eyes and I had nominated myself as his caretaker from the day of his birth. It was all my fear and carried it until I was in recovery at the age of 53, I was able to see it as it was.

I was afraid to say boo, in case I got into trouble. If anything went wrong, it was all my fault. From what my parents and the church taught me, I walked in living fear all of my life. I knew Jesus loved me, and yet I couldn't believe in all the fearful things, real or imagines, and abuse to me was not Love, so how could I believe I was lovable.