work a single thing in my life and I never really even feel that well just five minutes after reading one . I call them half-baked solutions to a crippling problem .
I am left discouraged ; after all , I have tried it all . I have tried to will myself into better thinking : Kelly , you can do it , stop fearing . I have tried to chide myself into better thinking : Kelly , you will never pull yourself together if you act like this . I have even tried to shame myself into confidence : Kelly , you are going to push everyone away with your bad anxiety .
When all these efforts fail , I normally give up and give in to some sort of pleasure to get my mind off it : TV , food , drink , movie — you name it , I know it .
Even talking about this induces my other cure-all answer that is easy to offer : Kelly , give ’ em Jesus . He will make everything all right .
It is not so much that I don ’ t have to be struggling as it is just that I have to get after Jesus and bring Him into my struggle with me . Doing this — it is called chasing brave .
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Kelly Balarie has lived her subject matter . Her faith was built as she battled through an eating disorder , depression , serious health concerns , company failures , family tragedies , job losses , and times without income . Throughout it all , Kelly has looked past the pain to pursue God ’ s always-unfolding plan . Kelly is a featured blogger at Crosswalk . com and iBelieve . com . Her work has been featured on Relevant , ( in ) courage . me , and Today ’ s Christian Woman . She lives with her husband and two toddlers near the sunsoaked shores of the East Coast .
Purchase your copy of Fighting Fear at : http :// bakerpublishinggroup . com / books / fear-fighting / 381501
48 SMG Solutions
But things didn ’ t look “ all right ” for Jesus . Things weren ’ t all peaches and sugar with a dollop of whipped cream on top . They were hard . They were painful . They were tough .
Jesus never said to expect easy . So why do we ?
And maybe this is the exact kind of encouragement I really need . I need to know someone gets me . Someone understands . Someone declares it hard . Someone has been down a road with a debilitating cross on His back as He pushed into real life . Knowing this , I won ’ t feel so alone and scared . Then I can maybe see how He made it — and not just made it but made it safely home — and how He makes sense out of everything , even the little things , the pains and threats of today .