Creepy crawly squiggly things, or long slimy slithering things…

What is it that makes you scream?

This morning my daughter reminded me of how fear can take over our very being causing us to loose all ability to function. She had stepped out into the garage to grab her shoes and discovered a brown recluse spider had joined her. She came running inside and instantly called for help from my husband who went out and conquered the beast. The spider was big enough that he even got the chills down his spine.

Fear is a weird thing. I use to be afraid of flying. It was a completely irrational fear because statistics prove that 1 in 13 million die in a plane crashes (statistics from the top 25 airlines). Despite the statistics, my fear became so strong that I actually would panic on an airplane. Finally, about 2 years ago, something changed in me completely. I took a job that forced me to fly and after about 3 months into this job, I got on a plane one morning and realized I was no longer afraid to fly. Now I enjoy being on a plane.

My other fear is of snakes. They creep me out. Even the little garter snakes give me the heeby geebies. My kids think I am really funny for this fear because they like to catch little snakes. I seriously run if I see someone with a snake. Years ago I tried to conquer this fear by touching a pet snake. It did nothing for me. I still don’t like snakes and don’t enjoy seeing the slithery creepy things.

 Here are the top 10 most common phobias.

Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders. Apparently this fear affects more women than men.

Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes Acrophobia – The fear of heights

Agoraphobia – The fear of situations in which escape is difficult. (Crowds, open spaces, etc.) This fear tends to cause people to fear leaving their home.

Cynophobia – The fear of dogs.

Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightning.

Trypanophobia – The fear of injections.

Social Phobias – The fear of social situations.

Pteromerhanophobia – The fear of flying.

Mysophobia – The fear of germs and dirt.

The bottom line is that if a fear keeps you from living life in a normal way, or prevents you from doing things that will enhance your life, then maybe it’s time to get help. Sure, I am not going to go sky diving or do something that purely is for adrenaline, but I never want me fears to get in the way of what God has intended for my life.

15 years ago I was afraid to go to Haiti to visit the projects of Compassion International. I was afraid of dying and leaving my child parentless. I went on the trip despite my fears and it changed my life. 15 years later I get to help with some Compassion trips and will be going to El Salvador in November with a Blog trip. If I had let my fears control me in the past, I would not be going on this trip. I am so glad that I did not let fear stop me from doing something that God used to change my life.

So what are you afraid of?