Conquering Fears

God sure has a lot of faith in my wife.

After the New Years haze of 2008 was over, my wife said to me and my daughter "I feel like the Lord is going to test me this year."

Boy was she right!

2008 was a tough one on the Mrs. Over the past 12 months the Lord has been doing some heavy work on my wife, forcing her to face fears, overcome lifelong challenges, accept things she doesn't want to accept and improve upon things she doesn't want to improve.

Case and point #1

Sonlight Pictures.

My wife is great with money. Great with it. She can convince a penny to live the life of a quarter. She's amazing.

When I felt called to start Sonlight Pictures, my wife was not really a happy camper. She knew that would put a financial strain on us. But, she faced her fears, put her stock in faith and by May of 08 we officially created Sonlight Pictures, LLC. With Club God and Purgatory, USA in the can, we can look back and see the leap of faith was worth the jump. But, it was not an easy decision to make.

Case and point #2.

Lifeteen Angst.

My wife had been struggling with her responsibilities with the Lifeteen Band. She had faced a few challenges that had effected her confidence within herself and, when performing, confidence is one of the most important tools in your toolbox. Without it, things can get rough in a hurry.

My wife was so upset about it all that she had even considered leaving the band. After an important and Holy Spirit inspired conversation with the band leader, Dea decided to stay with the band, but hoped to overcome these challeges slowly, over time.

The Lord, however, had different plans.

The Sunday after Christmas, about half the band was going to be unavailable. The band leader was going to be in Georgia with her family. Another singer, an avid Oakland Raider fan, was going to be at the Bucs/Oakland game. A few musicians were unavailable too.

The end result was that a 10 person band with five singers was supposed to be a six member band with three singers.

Then Dea found out the drummer/singer was in a minor motorcycle accident and wouldn't be able to go... so the remaining singer was going to have to play the drums. That left Dea all by herself, singing alone.

Yeah, when the Lord wants you to overcome something, He really makes you face it whether you like it or not.

So, we prayed and, as it turned out, things went very well. An ex-bandmate who was in town from college offered to sing with her and the replacement drummer was able to sing and play drums at the same time.

Still, Dea was forced to face her confidence issues head on and she did so with flying colors.

This is just one example of how the Lord has pushed Dea toward self evaluation and self improvement. It has not been a subtle experience, nor a pleasant one at times, but I'm certain it is necessary.

As I've said to my wife, this process is actually very exciting because the Lord must be demanding these changes because He has something very special in store for her.

I can't wait to see what the Big Guy has planned for my beloved.

Keep her in your prayers. The Lord may have even greater challenges in store for 2009.