“Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9

The verse above has been one of my favorites for many, many years. When I’ve gone thru times of doubt and fear, it was a reminder that someone bigger than myself was in control.

Still is. Always will be.

This week, I had an opportunity to be the person who helped someone overcome fear. One of our students had made it through the class to the practical exercise. This is a confidence building exercise — in the newly learned skills and in the equipment. As we entered the chamber to check the fit of our masks, he was shaking and obviously nervous. I stood beside him under our respective hoods and touched his arm to get his attention, reassuring him that we wouldn’t allow anything to happen to him. This young man grasped my hand so tightly, visibly shaking, and so. . .for the 8 minutes of activity to ensure a qualitative fit, I held his hand. As we exited the chamber, I motioned to him that I would keep my eyes on him and stayed with him as he performed his skills.

How often am I like that young man? Nervous with the circumstances around me, shaken in my faith, and afraid of failing. How often is God holding my hand but I’m so focused on my own inadequacies that I don’t notice or (worse) I refuse to hold onto His hand? How often does He keep his eyes on me but I fail to remember that He sees everything around me?

My circumstances may not be the best right now: Long on bills and short on cash. Unsure of the situation with my kids. Wondering how to accomplish all that needs to be done.

However, I’ve been here before (albeit many years ago) and a fresh start is always scary. I’ve survived every single worst day of my life so far which makes my success rate 100%.

Those are pretty great odds and a pretty great reminder that I’m not in this alone.