Becoming New WineSample

Day 4 Anxiety and fear Stinks!

The idea of change can freak us out. Questions start mounting. What if people don't like me? What if the change is too hard? How long is this going to take? What might I need to be doing? Will I have to work out? Stop drinking so much? Go to therapy?

What was I going to do? I made money in the nightlife business. I was 28 years old. Was I going to start over? I pondered how to become new. Those little seeds that my mom planted 20 years earlier were beginning to sprout. I knew I needed a new wineskin (new lifestyle) if I was going to make new wine (a renewed heart). I decided to make a change. I sold my nightlife business and got a minimum wage job to start over and remove myself from a place and life that didn't fill me up. The FEAR was real, and it didn't stop there.

Several years ago, I signed up for at least 5 or 6 marathons and never started one of them. While I knew this would change me for the better, the anxiety and fear of how long it would take to prepare stopped me every time. I also just thought I was not good enough to finish. I cried (happy tears) at the visualization of finishing a marathon. I wanted this goal so badly, but my anxiety and fear kept me down.

To overcome my fear, I signed up for an ultra marathon– a 42-mile run for my first marathon ever. I thought if I didn't finish that one, I would at least finish a marathon which was my original goal.

I get it. Anxiety and fear are REAL experiences. They can kill your dreams of being the new you. But they don't have to. ( I finished the dang 42 miles, BTW!)

Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything or worried, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your requests known to God."

Better said for today, "Release your requests to God," or "Be God-dependent."

Matthew 6:34 says, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself; each day has enough trouble of its own."

When life makes you anxious about something, take it to Jesus; he brought you there, planted the seed, and wants to see a new you. He even knows you are reading this! He will do the heavy lifting. All you need to do is take the steps.

How do you feel when you think of becoming new? Will you be able to still be new in the same environment that you are in now? Have the same friends? Do the same activities. What is God telling you that you need to do?