Traveling in a car with an older grandchild is a gift. They can sit in the front seat beside you and we can just talk or be a good listener if needed. It had been Halloween a few days before and my 11 year old granddaughter began to tell me of her haunted house adventure. One of the classes at our high school had put it together as a money making project. She had never been to a haunted house and she was excited to tell me what had gone on. In my heart I wished she had not gone, but it had already taken place, so I was intent to her every detail. She is a good story teller and I could follow each scary step just as I had been by her side. When she finished I asked, “so if you knew you would be scared why did you go?” With a shrug of her shoulders and a reluctant “I don’t know,” I said “Why do we want to put fear on ourselves?” (I have been to haunted houses, watched scary movies, dressed in costumes, the whole 9 yards, but have turned 180 degrees on those choices.)
We make bad choices that result in fear, and then spend time afraid, and then try to get past the fear that we put on ourselves, instead of good choices which result in God’s blessing. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and of a sound mind.” We must guard our minds by making good choices with what we see and hear. Satan works us over by suggesting fear in our thoughts and minds, but those thoughts can be taken captive. Deuteronomy 11:26: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.” I hope and pray my grandchildren make good choices; resist fear and accept power, love and a sound mind, which God gives freely to all who believe in Jesus Christ, as He walks by our side.