Boogey Men

As a child I believed in the boogey man. Of course as an adult I have put such childish fears behind me….. well I pretend I have. But in truth there are some things that I fear which have grown into fearsome monsters over the years. Today one of those fears taught me a lesson.

I had a pastor’s meeting today. I was looking forward to meeting the other pastors in the Willamina area. I did not consider what I have come to call the “Nazarene factor”. For a long time I have avoided situations where I would be faced with Nazarene pastors and people who knew me in my former life. To be honest, I was fearful of continued condemnation and just tired of feeling unwarranted shame. Sometimes I went to great lengths to make sure I was not faced with the Nazarene factor.

Today the very first pastor through the doors of the church was a Nazarene pastor and the next two through the door were Nazarene pastors. By that point I told God He had a warped sense of humor. But I forced myself to interact and was pleasantly surprised by their warmth. By the end of the meeting they began telling things they remembered about my time with the Nazarenes. It was positive and humorous and really blessed my heart.

It is a reminder to me that sometimes the things I fear the most are not necessarily real. This boogey man dissipated when faced with the reality of the truth. I am very glad that I was stretched today. I am thankful for the chance to eradicate one of my boogey men. Now if I can just eradicate a few more.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Just Connie