Fearless

I was quite a scary child. This situation was not helped by the fact that I was a voracious reader of mysteries. Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, The Boxcar Children. All were a huge part of my early years. And then there was the TV. Perry Mason was a regular at our house along with any other detective show that came on one of our two channels.

And of course, there were the movies. Apparently no one thought it was inappropriate for a third-grader to go see I Saw What You Did, and I Know Who You Are. And later I watched Psycho, Wait Until Dark, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. Those must have been some of the scariest movies ever made.

Really, it is a wonder I ever slept a wink living in that big, creaky old house of ours.

But a funny thing happened on the way to this current life of mine. Though I still love a mystery (and if you need some good authors, just let me know), made-up stories don't scare me much anymore. Real life does that just fine.

The thing is that I don't want to live afraid. I don't want to be afraid of the storms and things that go bump in the night. I don't want the worry about what might happen tomorrow to keep me from living today.

I want to be fearless.

I want to speak out, speak up, go, do, be.

The challenge has been issued by a pair of socks.

I only hope I don't disappoint them.

Adventures await. Challenges are around the corner. Let's go.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

                                                      --Psalm 27