Did you know there was a time in my life when I was scared of dogs? It wasn’t a mere fear of dogs. It was terror. Was it one traumatic experience or an amalgamation of several incidents that led me to my fear? I’m not even sure. But as far back as I can remember, I was scared of dogs.
As a child, I was perfectly content living my life with this fear. My coping method was to hide behind one of my parents – or an adult – if I saw a dog. Although this was very effective as a child, it seemed cowardly once I became a teenager. So my new coping strategy was to pretend I wasn’t scared and to act indifferent. Either pretending the dog wasn’t there or acting like his presence didn’t bother me. Yet the entire time watching him out of the corner of my eye in case he was about to attack me. Honestly, I wasn’t fooling anyone. I’m no actress. It was quite clear by my bugged-eyed expression, I was scared.
On the whole, this fear didn’t impact my life too much. There weren’t a lot of dogs I encountered on a daily basis and I easily avoided all dog parks. I blissfully went through life, arm in arm with my fear until I became pregnant. And I realized I didn’t want to pass my fear down to the next generation. Not to mention if we were both scared of dogs who would my child run to? I needed to be an example for him, so I needed to conquer my fear.
Conquering my fear
My perception of dogs was at the heart of my fear. I saw them as vicious man-eating beasts. Until I replaced this negative thought with the truth, I would always be afraid.
Additionally, I had also subconsciously trained myself to get anxious every time I saw a dog. This meant my heart rate spiked and my blood pressure rose when I saw one. Reconditioning both my mind and my body’s automated response took willpower, discipline, intentionality, and God’s power. Eventually, I conquered my fear. I am no longer afraid of dogs and find them endearing – although I still avoid ones who are snarling and baring their teeth.
What I’ve learned
My fear of dogs is a great example of how we can triumph over our fears. As parents of children with disabilities, fear is in the air we breathe. Sometimes it doesn’t affect us but other times it’s altering our perception and subconsciously changing our behavior. And now instead of a friendly pet, we see a ferocious predator.
It’s important to make sure we don’t live our lives and make our decisions based on fear. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God didn’t give us “…a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
Fear doesn’t need to have a place in our lives, with God’s power we can overcome it.
Next steps
Spend a few moments in prayer asking God to show you if there are any fears controlling your life. Think about the following questions:
- Are you avoiding something because you’re afraid?
- Are you choosing to ignore something because you fear the outcome?
- Or are you hiding behind the safety of the known, afraid to venture out?
Take a few minutes in silence to see what God brings to your mind. The point is to honestly look at your life and think if the choices you are making are due to fear. And if you’ve trained your body to react automatically out of fear. It’s amazing the truths you can learn about yourselves when you take the time to ask God. He wants to set you free from your fears so you can live in freedom.
Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears. I John 4:18 NCV