Whether you fear serious illness or addiction, job loss, upsetting arguments, in-law woes, or the death of a loved one, you've got it covered. Haven't you gotten through life so far?
Trust yourself. Because God is always with you, and God will always give you the strength you need, in the moment you need it. God will give you the words you need when your teen or adult child or spouse argues with you. God will give you the patience you need when you visit a parent with Alzheimer's who doesn't recognize you because you're an adult, and asks you where you are. God will give you the endurance you need when you feel as if half your life is spent at your job and the other half in Doctors' offices or at your kids' playing fields. And, if your worst fears do come true, God will give you the strength to pick up the pieces when trauma has ripped through your life.
Trust yourself. God has blessed you with many spiritual gifts and virtues, and the more you use those gifts, the more abundant they become. The more courage you exhibit, the more easily you'll face the next fear. The more you love, the more love you'll have to give. The more humility you have to acknowledge that you need God today, the more humbly and easily you'll go to Him tomorrow.
Acknowledging that we need God and depend on God, is not weakness - it's wisdom and strength. We can always trust ourselves because we can always trust God, Who lives united with us in our souls. Where does God leave off and we begin? That's the great Mystery. And the more we trust in God, the less we'll fear, because He is with us, to give us courage.
Sometimes those traumas in life that cause us to be fearful involve having relatives or friends who are different from us, and we don't know how to "be" with them. We're afraid - afraid to say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing. We may be angry or grieving because they ARE different. Often we fear what we don't understand, because we like life to be orderly and not mysterious, because whatever is mysterious seems threatening to us.
Some people fear being with those with Alzheimer's because they fear their irrationality. How do you talk with someone whose mind is gone? Or they fear people with Down's Syndrome or different forms of mental illness. Or they don't know what to say to someone who is blind or who uses a wheelchair. Or if they find out that a friend or relative is gay, they may feel fear or anger or disgust - because that way of thinking or feeling is foreign to them. Or they may fear someone of a different race or religion - or at least feel uncomfortable around them. Or because we fear the mysterious and unknown reality which is death, we don't want to be around the dying. When we're afraid of what we don't understand, when we can't file a person or condition in a neat category, our instinct is to back away from the unknown, or even to reject the unknown. "I can't handle this," we say to ourselves. "I don't know HOW to handle this."
But, if we trust God first, if we trust that God lives within us, always ready to strengthen us, then there is no one on this earth whom we need to fear, back away from, or reject. If God has put that person in our lives, then Divine Providence will supply every spiritual gift and skill that we need so that we can be with that other as friend and support. All we have to do is pray, trust, then take the first step, say the first word.
God will always give us the patience to, first of all, listen. Sometimes what people need most is to be able to talk, to voice what is going on inside them. They may need to voice THEIR fears about what's happening to them. They may need to voice THEIR anger that people have rejected them. If the person has Alzheimers, they may need to talk even if what they say is gibberish. If we nod and smile and touch their hand, that is all they need.
Trust yourself and trust God - God will always give us the words. The soothing words, if someone is upset. The comforting words, if someone is grieving. The affirming words that someone is of great worth if they feel as if they're worthless. The words of confidence, that we believe in them. The words of faith - that God loves them. The smiles and laughs so we touch each other's humanity and find the places that we are truly alike.
Trust yourself and trust God working in you and through you. The more love we give, the more love God will replenish our souls with, so we become like an ever-flowing fountain of love. Love strengthens us to meet people who are unknown to us or different from us without our having any preconceived opinions or ideas. Love strengthens us to really gaze at someone with open eyes and open hearts, to acknowledge both differences and likenesses. Love strengthens us to listen to people's faith and about their life journeys, journeys that are very different from ours, but just as valid and important. Love strengthens us to know and believe that Christ waits for us in everyone we meet, ready to smile on us as we smile at this new "version" of Him.
Trust yourself: No matter WHAT you fear, you're a survivor, and you can survive whatever is coming. Trust yourself: No matter WHOM you fear, God in you can meet God in the other, so you both can be a blessing to each other. As Jesus said, "Perfect love casts out fear."