Fear of the Unknown

My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Proverbs 3:21-26 KJV

My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes: keep the law and counsel: And there shall be life to thy soul, and grace to thy mouth. Then shalt thou walk confidently in thy way, and thy foot shall not stumble: If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee. For the Lord will be at thy side, and will keep thy foot that thou be not taken.  Proverbs 3:21-26 Douay Rheims

My two favorite Psalms are #23 and #91. They guide my thought process each day along with Matthew 6: 30-34 and Ephesians 6. 

Let me paraphrase my thought process each day. I live for today only and do not look to tomorrow. Every day is a new day to be lived freely. Wherever we go each day, there are always people in need. For some, it is a kind word; for others, it means food or physical things. Just yesterday, I drove by two homeless men sitting near a restaurant.  I wanted to give them something to eat, but I was afraid to spend more time waiting for the food at the restaurant.  I had $20 in my wallet, but fear took over if I needed that $20 later, so I did not give it to them. Shame is what I feel this morning when I write this; it is a shame I did not do something out of fear. 

These are not risky moves like I feared for my life but are simple acts of kindness to those in need. It is a shame people have to live on the streets. I will not speculate why, but we can do things to help. The Holy Bible has instances where people are in need throughout Genesis to Revelation. The story of Joseph comes to mind when a severe famine of seven years is upon the earth. Jesus did not have a place to lay his head to sleep every night, yet he slept peacefully. At times, life can be complex, challenging, stress-filled, and downright hard. These are the times to lean on the Lord even harder. Trust the Lord with love in your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Trust that the Lord will bless and keep you daily and protect you from evil.  At the end of each day, we can rest assured our sleep will be sweet.