Sunday, July 07, 2013

Home Alone

To him who is in fear, everything rustles.  ~ Sophocles 

From A Personal Journal Entry:
 
As I write this I’m home alone. It’s dark outside; my husband is not due back for hours, and I hear frantic yelling—loud voices coming from the woods.
 
You must understand; we are isolated, surrounded by state forest; we have only one neighbor to the side of us. Their dogs are barking like crazy. 
 
The doorknob just jiggled.

It is locked; my husband insisted before he left this morning. My heart is racing; my mouth has gone dry. I head to the bedroom a the far end of the house, turning lights on as I go. I enter the darkened room and open the window so I can hear outside.

I am standing stock still, not breathing. 

Male voices are yelling in the distance. The only thing I hear clearly is, “I’m going toward the house with the dogs.”

Flashlights flicker in the darkness and there is crashing in the dense forest. I hear someone stumble out onto the road in front of the house and I could hear the clacking sound of his bow and arrows.  

My scary predator turns out to be a hunter trying to find his way out of the woods after darkness has descended. He’s probably more scared than I am and that’s saying something. 

Though reality became clear it didn’t take long for my senses to be on alert. My fear rose faster than the temperature in July. And, that wiggling of the doorknob, was imagined; it sprung from a past event when our house was broken into years ago. During that time John used to travel and I was alone with three small children. Fear reigned every night after sundown. And a piece of that just came to life after 26 years. 

Fear is often triggered from a past experience. This is one of the things I talk about in my book project called, Practically Fearless. 

Fear comes upon us in a matter seconds and produces an involuntary response. A sound, a word, anything can produce a reaction: spiking the heart rate, sucking the air out of our lungs, and giving the mind free reign in its reactions.

The trick is to reason past the initial firestorm to the reality of the situation. And, remembering who God is and that He is with us. 

This story could have just as easily gone a different way—the scarier one. So glad it didn’t. Yet, I am glad I saw my reaction first hand and was able to see it play out (research, you know). 

How about you? What real or imagined rustles have you experienced?




I am practically fearless, some of the time!
 
 
 
Jeanne
 
 
 
 

 
 
Day 7 - 31 Day Blog Challenge
 

 

8 comments:

  1. This morning in worship service we were reminded that there is no fear in HIS presence.

    I know from experience that fear will immobilize us in panic, yet I also know from experience that when I call out to HIM, His love, His presence over comes all fear.

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  2. Jeanne - What a riveting story, and how appropriate that I should be led to your site & post today. I actually faced a fear when publishing my own post today - it was based on something I'd written over a year ago & came across this morning. I felt so uncomfortable with the notion of sharing it that I just KNEW I had to!

    There are no coincidences, only divine inspiration should we be open to it. Your bio talks about drawing nearer to the Lover of your soul, which is what compelled me to push the publish button today. And by the way, I was born in New Hampshire!

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  3. Oh God! Sounds like something out of a horror film! When I was at university, I heard lots of unexplained noises. There was a really bizarre cat next door which sounded like a cow mooing!
    At home, sometimes my Dad and I have heard our names being called and the other people in the house have point blank denied it! *Scary*

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  4. Oh, so true, Erica. It is like traveling everyday holding hands with our Heavenly Papa.

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  5. Yay, Kelly. If God doesn't give us the spirit of fear, we know who does. Praying your courage will bring forth fruit and your message bring freedom to those who read it.

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  6. Sophie,
    Fear can be a powerful emotion. It is a healthy thing if it warns us from danger as it's designed to do, but when we live in a fear filled world, that is when we know it's unhealthy. God's presence is with us and He tells us not to be afraid. That brings peace to me and helps my fear not to rage out of control.
    Thanks for stopping in and commenting on my crazy night

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  7. Jeanne,your post reads like edge of your seat fiction. Yikes! As soon as we recognize that fear has slipped in, it's time to take charge and bind it in Jesus name. That wily spirit loves to sneak in and steal our joy.

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  8. Danie,

    Yes, I call him the wily coyote of the spirit realm.
    Friends have been encouraging me to try writing fiction--hmmm. Might be fun!

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