This post may not energize, educate, and empower like hopefully the others have, however I hope that you are inspired to recognize your fears for what they are, laugh at some of them, and work toward overcoming them. Although, some may seem impossible to conquer!
All of my closest friends, family members, co-workers, and yes, some of my former neighbors too, know that I’m absolutely terrified of frogs!! Not as much afraid of the crumbly crater-skinned toads, as the minty green slimy little stubborn raintree frogs…. My stomach sickens just to type this! The older I get, the more afraid I am, it seems… 😦
A few of my circle know the story about me getting trapped outside of my daughter’s house on a Friday night, in full sleepwear gear, in an extremely quiet neighborhood. In a post-concert thinking moment, it seemed like an okay thing to do—to step outside just for a minute or two to let my dog child, Khloe, out to ‘release’. Why not? It was late. Nobody is stirring this time of night. Stepping out, I proceeded to slightly close the door behind me, then waited for Khloe. Trouble arrived when I turned to walk back in, and a little monstrous FROG was at the door!!! Couldn’t get to the doorbell, so what did I do?? Started screaming my daughter’s name for at least a minute!! She finally heard me and opened the garage to let me in. She was quite kind, however she had a look of disgust, coupled with a few sprinkles of humor, and questionable scoops of her mama’s state of mind. What she didn’t verbalize, but I ‘heard’ was, “Really, mama….???” Slightly humiliated by my own fear and embarrassed because she had guests, I walked swiftly past her circle of friends/line sisters and retreated to the bedroom to further sulk in this fear, or maybe it’s just plain foolishness…..smh
Well, I had been praying—asking God to help me to overcome this l fear of those ugly, sneaky little demon monsters, but ran into my first challenge when two were in my trash receptacle three days later. Needless to say, I sprinted across the lawn, with the trash bag in tow! It wasn’t a pretty sight to watch, I’m sure! Thanks to a good friend, who became an unexpected frog whisperer, for dumping them in the back yard!!
A few mornings later, while sweeping my patio, my eyes caught what looked like a dead baby greenie…I can spot these evil creatures a mile away! Typically, I can’t even go near a dead one, but because God is hearing me (I KNOW He is!), I was able to take a deep breath, stare in space for a minute, then extend the broom as far as possible to sweep it in a dustpan and dump it in the trash. Even though it was a long-handle dustpan and my heart was beating at an alarming rate, it was a start! Being an optimist, I felt that more help was on the way! #thelittlethings#onestepatatime
I shared portions of this story verbally, on FaceBook, and in both, text and instant messages, however never intended to publish it on The Cherry Vine…. UNTIL another episode happened with the trash receptacle!! smh. Regrettably, I had NOT progressed like I thought I had, as shown in the image assigned to this post. However, because I know that God can deliver and nothing is too tough for Him, I will continue to pray for deliverance from this fear. I’m sure that those who I’ve dragged with me on the fright ride, whether to listen to my crazy stories or come to my rescue when the green monsters appear, are ready to witness the results of this deliverance! Lol.
Whether determined to be plain ole Fear or simple Foolishness, I hope you, TCV readers, are given a little lift of laughter with this non-traditional written expression of my heart. Laughter truly is good for the soul! Both Fear and Foolishness have a place there also. 😉
Peace & Blessings, Lisa B
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