Fear, can we ever overcome it?

   "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear," 1 John 4:18.

    I recently watched the 2016 movie Ben-Hur and wow what a movie.  A story of how unfairness of life can change our very character but Christ through His life and death can change all that if we make the decision to let go and move forward.  There is a line from Morgan Freeman's character to the main character Judah Ben Hur at the very end as they are riding away  "Don't look back Judah, for your life is in front of you." How true a statement but one that seems so hard to do.  SHIFT OUR FOCUS from the past to the future from what has happened to the Hope of what can happen.
     A "victim of her past", damaged by what has happened to her unable to move forward in life/relationships is playing on repeat in my mind.  Sometimes it is quiet but there are times when it is so loud that I don't think I can move forward.  I have been in therapy off and on since I was 15 when I was first diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety.  I am thankful for my therapist and there is no shame in asking someone to help you reprogram your way of thinking. Especially if it isn't working. My therapist gave me a worksheet on the 9 ways we make ourselves miserable by the way we think.  Yep, I could say I "naturally" go to all of them in situations.  The result has been an all in compassing fear that is suffocating and left me with few close friends,a divorce, and not living the life I knew I could. So change had to happen and I began to really shift my focus off of me(past) and onto God (hope for the life He made us for).
  I love the verse above because fear is natural and for some of us in life it is inevitable based on life's circumstances.  However, it gives us hope that there is a perfect love that drives out all fear, wow what a promise.  So how does that happen?  I believe and have found that it is through my focus-looking at the one who gives hope.  It takes time and is one decision at a time, one day at a time. I don't know that I will ever overcome fear completely but I can choose not be OVERCOME by fear.
   I had the privileged to be part of a Women's Event at my church this past weekend and I am always amazed but what God can do when people, especially women, come together for a common goal. We live in a world where there is so much negativity and tearing down.  It was a night where  women of all ages gathered together for dessert/coffee(now something can be said about Chocolate, cheesecake and coffee offered) and listen to women share "Stories of Belonging".   There was a brief time after the women spoke to have a discussion at our tables, and it struck me how "fear" was brought up.  Fear/shyness/compassion often leaves us isolated and stuck. This is the main "why" behind my writing to somehow connect us to each other and let other women know they aren't alone in thoughts/life.  My prayer for this blog is one of encouragement  and also to help me stay Focused on that perfect love and drive out the fear that can control me.