I thought it was unusual because she's the one who never wanted a nightlight, and likes her room pitch black. But something got into her.
She said she's afraid someone will steal her at night.
We gave her the expected assurances.
She was comforted enough to go to sleep.
But she still wanted her door open.
It's normal for kids to go through stages, and to have fears.
It actually shows she's maturing, becoming more aware of her surroundings and more aware of actual dangers in the world. (And for this girl, gaining a healthy awareness of real dangers is a good thing! She's normally the first to jump out of the boat.)
It's normal for adults to have some fears too.
Most of ours are not healthy.
This incident got me thinking about my fears.
They revolved around three things:
- My church,
- My family,
- Myself.
Maybe I'll share more on what my biggest fears are.
But first I'd be interested in reading about yours.
Once you pinpoint your fear(s),
you'll also pinpoint some of your deepest held values.
You'll be surprised how much you learn about yourself.
So what is your biggest fear(s)?
Think about it now so it doesn't keep you up tonight, like it did for me last night!
A couple of years ago, Kira, while in bed, told me that she was afraid of the dark and wanted a light on when she slept. I said, "what difference does it make if the light is on? The same stuff is still here." She argued that she was scared of the dark, and I responded with, "You don't need to be. The dark is just like the light, except you can't see." Little did I know how profound that statement would be for her. Not only did that answer satisfy her, but she taught it to Liam too, when she was only three, and it seemed to satisfy him as well. Even though it's been almost two years, she still reminds me of that.
ReplyDeleteI have several strange, but somewhat common fears. Heights, telephones, flying, bugs, and the unknown. But I also have some very odd fears, like fear of being unloved, unlikeable, and sometimes a fear of what other people think of me.
But I marvel at how much kids teach us. The simplest answers satisfy them. What if all of our greatest fears are just like our greatest desires, but with just one small element missing? What if every fear was as easy as simply knowing that what we desire is always there, under the surface, and the only thing hiding it from us is our dependence on being able to sense it in the most convenient way? If the dark truly is just like the light, except you can't see, then you rely on your other senses to satisfy what you're lacking in that weakness. What if every fear worked that way?
I think that being unloved or unliked is probably a big fear in a lot of people, even when we don't want to admit it. It's probably one of the greatest fears of mankind. But what if... what if... being unloved is just like being loved, except there aren't any people nearby? What would that make me do? I'd be forced to either go find people, or just accept the fact that the only person loving me right now is God, and rely on that to sustain me.
What if all my fears worked the same way?
Just some thoughts.