Tuesday’s Trench Lesson

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Are we there yet…or should I say has the season of fall arrived? This is my favorite season of all, when we see so many color changes in creation…well, maybe not so much in California, but you know what I mean! There’s a sense of crisp newness anticipated as this season reminds us that the holidays are just around the corner! Grab your pumpkin Latte, or whatever you’re having, and let’s go “fall” into this next trench lesson. Oh, and grab your SOF (strand of faith) so we can tie some knots in it! Believe it or not, we’re going to have some fun with “fear” today!

Last week we talked about fear and how it can turn a little disagreement into a full-blown fall-out with another, especially those closest to us emotionally, and this week, I’d like to talk some more about fear, especially considering it coincides with where I am with the Transformers in this session’s Trench Class.

It seems as I get older, I get a little less fearless and a lot more timid when it comes to conquering my phobic-type of fears, for example, the fear of heights, or my fear of small spaces, aka, claustrophobic, fear of not being able to breathe because of an awful sinus infection, and even a fear of roller coasters, which is really weird because when I was younger, especially growing up with my son, I loved the thrill of a good roller coaster! Isn’t it funny that running from these fears, or refusing to face them gives us a sense of … well, like maybe we’re in control…NOT! I am learning as I get older that the more I let go of control, the more in control I am. And boy have I been tested in that reality lately.

First, a couple of weeks ago, and I almost forgot about this, I was in an elevator making my way up to our client’s office to take a deposition. I only had to go up two floors. Well, this elevator looked old, smelled old and…well, it was old! I pushed the 3, the door closed and it was just me, myself and my court reporting machine. SILENCE…I heard nothing, felt nothing…except the beating of my heart that was getting louder and louder as the fear set into my bones. My internal faucet turned on, full blast and I broke out in a sweat, tried to gasp for air but failed.  I am so glad there was no one else in there sucking up any of the air I needed or listening to the words running around in my head that erupted into a chant: God is with me; God is with me; whom or what shall I fear? I mean it’s not like the door closed and He was left out, right? 

Without warning, no bump, no sound, no nada, the door opened and I was free!

A huge sigh of relief escaped me and I tried to steady my beating heart and my shaking body and compose myself before walking into the attorney’s office, looking like I had it together and was ready to work!

Come to find out, they get complaints about that elevator all the time! Needless to say, when it came time to leave, I took the stairs, me and my heavy court reporting machine!

And just last weekend, we had the pleasure of spending time with two of my favorite little people, aka, my oldest grandson, and my grand-daughter. We took them to Knotts Berry Farm for what I thought would be a day of riding things in Camp Snoopy. I don’t think I’ve been so happily wrong in my life. These kids were/are fearless! I mean we started out with Sidewinder…and if you’ve never ridden that, well allow me to try and describe it for you after I tell you that the closer we got to it being our turn, the more dry my mouth got and the faster my heart beat! But, hey, my almost-eight-year-old granddaughter was conquering her fear, so I had to, too!  Sidewinder is a roller coaster but with a bit of a twist: as it goes up and down the track, it moves side to side, and what makes it even more frightening is only half of your body is secure! And you know what that means? Well, I saw the video of us afterwards and there’s only three words that come to mind that I thought of as I watched Tyler and myself on the screen during the ride: crash test dummies! There I was being thrown from side to side, my eyes completely frozen shut, breathing as if I were having a baby! I did NOT look happy! :-) And there my little Tyler was, her head bobbing up and down, side to side, smiling from ear to ear! I laughed so hard my abs got a workout!

I was in no way prepared for what we conquered a few hours later…

Join me tomorrow for the conclusion to this trench lesson…

Fearlessly,

Evinda