Failure is the rich soil in which our faith grows.

A Christian with anxiety. I used to be ashamed to admit that about myself. How on earth could a ‘Christian’ have anxiety. Well friends, I do. And I am not ashamed by it. God knew that we would be wired to want to control our own paths. In a way I feel as if he uses our anxieties to bring the focus back on Him. Because the world isn’t always rainbows and sunshine and God sent his son to die on the cross because he knew we are all sinners. Powerful stuff, huh.

Let me start by saying, I am NOT here to tell you that I have overcome anxiety and have all the answers. If I am being honest, I think I deal with anxiety more than I realize on a daily basis. It most often happens when I try to be in control of every situation and every outcome. I have to remind myself that the results are up to God; he just asks that I walk his path, to love others, and to do my best always.

Take for example day to day living, trying to figure it all out on my own. My career, my relationships, getting results back from the doctor, finding out someone you love is sick, being rejected by people you trusted. The list can go on. But just knowing who holds my future, helps relieve some stress that comes along with it.

I have come to realize that anxiety and fear go hand in hand. For example, just like anxiety, fear is not rational and often prevents us from thinking clearly. The enemy knows that if he can control our thinking, he can control our lives.

Something that has really helped my anxiety in the last year has simply been to ask myself, "Are my fears causing me to behave this way?" As a woman who has been controlled by fear for most of her life, the answer to that question is usually always yes!

My prayer is that if you experience anxiety and feel fear surrounding your life, that you can take the time to slow down, breath, and seek out Gods peace. Remember that God created YOU! He ordained your ENTIRE life before you were even born and has a beautiful journey planned for you. No matter what you are facing, remember ‘The Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your own enemies.’ (Deuteronomy 20:4) Do not be ashamed any longer of the darkness you are facing. Walk proudly beyond the anxiety and fear. Know that God sees all of our missteps as a new opportunity to trust in him.

I have a lot of work to do myself, but I am putting this out there in hopes that it will help shed a little light on some darkness we all deal with.

The battles we face, we are never alone. Just be the light.

Keep shining friends!

xo

Brittany

The battle is the Lords