As a child, I had a reoccurring nightmare. It wasn’t about being lost or being chased or falling off a building.
No, my reoccurring nightmare involved waking up and finding my room on fire.
This nightmare was a reality for so many residents of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. I cannot imagine the experience of those who perished and those who survived. So many lives lost. So many lives disrupted. So much history lost.
It got me thinking about a lot of things. How we treat the earth. Human fragility and resilience. The power of our fears.
Yeah. What happened in Maui kicked up in me an old, old fear of fire.
What do you do when you are afraid? The first thing I do is breathe. As deeply and slowly as my fear allows. Breathing deeply does all of these things in our bodies that slow down and moderate response to fear. Breathing connects me to God. As I breathe, I try to hear the voice of Jesus: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”
As the wave of fear passes, I try to ask myself the question: what does this particular fear have to teach me? What does my fear of fire have to teach me?
That life is precious. That life is fragile. That life is precious.
What do you fear? What does that fear have to teach you?
-Written by Rev. Amy Miracle
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My fear was someone breaking in the front door trying to get to me and not being able to scream. It never happened of course, but was a recurring nightmare like yours. I don’t have the dream today, just some of the fear. It’s the reason I have German Shepherds and GS mixes.