{God-sized Dreams} Chihuahuas not welcome

“Fear hangs out right next to whatever it is you’re most called to do. That means the closer you get to your calling, the louder fear sounds. Keep going – fear is a chihuahua that sounds like a Doberman.”

{Holley Gerth in “You’re Made for a God-sized Dream“}

Dear Chihuahua of Fear,

I have some things I’d like to say to you, starting with stay out of my yard.

You may think I’m boxing myself in with this fence to keep you out, but, really, there is freedom here. There is freedom because I do venture outside my yard, but I have this safe place to come to when I need to regroup. This is the place I’ve cultivated with my husband, my kids and those closest to us. This is the place where we choose what comes in and how we spend our time. Our yard looks different than our neighbors’ and friends’. And that’s OK.

Chihuahua of Fear, you may yap and bark and whine to be let into my yard, into my life, but I’m not going to let you in. I don’t want to step in your messes or have you interrupt my life. Chihuahua of Fear, you make me think everybody has to like me and that there’s only one way to do something. The people-pleasing and judgmental ways have got to go. The over-analyzing conversations and moments isn’t good for my soul. And competition? Really, it has no place among friends.

I’ve been wondering/If we stop sinking/Could we stand our ground/And through everything we’ve learned/We’ve finally come to terms/We are the outsiders …/On the outside/You’re free to roam/On the outside/We found a home/On the outside/There’s more to see/On the outside/We choose to be

{From “The Outsiders” by Needtobreathe}

It’s ironic, really. Little yappy Chihuahua, I don’t want you in my yard. You’re on the outside. Yet this yard I’m cultivating with the Maker of it all really is on the outside of our society. I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. Yes, sometimes that’s easier.

But living intentionally and radically will make a difference in my kids’ hearts and our relationships in this world. We’re outsiders here, though, really. Because our sights are set on another yard, a place Jesus has spent more than 2,000 years preparing for us. I think of the glory I’ve seen here, and, really, I can’t imagine the glory we’ll experience there.

So stay out of my yard here, Chihuahua of Fear, because you won’t be welcome with us in this heavenly place being prepared for us outsiders.