"Don't Be Afraid, I'm Right Here"....

Have you ever heard this from either a parent or teacher or just a "big kid"
when you were young? I think that we all have. We have all had to fight
something we were afraid of and it was always easier if someone we loved and
trusted was there to stand by us.

My father was away from home quite a bit when we kids were younger. My
brother had to depend on our mother for guidance regarding bullies and
sports and any other trials in his life. Not being a guy, she was not much
help in a lot of situations and so my brother retreated into sort of an
introvert and yet someone who would lash out a lot too. He would not
volunteer for many things and never took part in any school sports. This
was fine when he was very young, but once he entered his teens it was
different. Not playing sports tended to get you labeled as a wimp or worse.
So my brother joined track and field of all things. My brother was short
and quite stocky and I could pass him when he was at a full run by just
walking fast. I asked him what he was thinking and he just gave me a dirty
look. My brother was determined to do this and I could see it in his eyes.
He started eating much less and he started lifting weights down in the
basement at night and then he started running after school as well. My
father had been away during this time was due home by the time that the Time
Trials for the Track Team were to start. For some reason my brother had
embraced this idea and was adamant about seeing it through. Although he was
dieting and lifting and eating healthier, he was still a stocky guy. I
asked him why he didn't go out for wrestling or football instead? He just
told me that he was going to do this and to leave him alone. I shrugged my
shoulders and walked away. I just knew that he was in for a big heartbreak.

My father arrived home a couple of days before the trials. That weekend he
worked with my brother and said nothing negative to him about his weight or
his stocky build or anything negative. He just told my brother that he
believed in him and anything he wanted to do. I was amazed. On Monday
after school it seemed like everyone had stayed to watch the trials. I had
been picked up by my parents after school and we drove to my brother's
school to watch him. All the guys were running around and doing exercises
to limber up. My brother was out there touching his knees. Ah, that is as
far as he could bend. I really had my doubts about this day. My poor
brother was in for such a let down. I just knew it. I think some of his
classmates thought the same thing because they kept coming up to him and
slugging him in the arm. My brother would wince and rub his arm and the
guys would laugh and run off. Then I understood. He was trying to make a
point. He was being picked on and taunted. It was worse than I thought.
My brother, head bowed and very dejected came up to where we were sitting
and sat down. He suddenly looked like a balloon that someone had let all
the air out of. My dad asked him what was the matter. My brother said that
he must have been nuts to try this and he was going to tell the coach to
pull his name. My father grabbed hold of him and gave him a shake. "You
are not going to quit. You can do this. You are my son and I am proud of
you. I know that you can do this if you put your all into it. Now get out
there and know that I am right here and I will be sending you all my
strength in my heart. Go son, and remember you CAN do this. Don't be
afraid, I'm right here." Something changed in my brothers face. It filled
with strength and pride and some kind of knowing that I really did not
understand. HE MADE IT!! The chubby little kid made it! I was just
stunned as were the guys that not an hour before were punching him. And
they embraced him as one of them is some kind of slapping, hitting, shoving
guy ritual that followed. My brother looked up into the stands and he and
my dad exchanged a thumbs up sign. What a day that was. All my brother
needed was someone to believe in him.

As adults we still go through trials. At home, at church, at work, we all
meet challenges and hurdles and people that seem too much to overcome. Our
battles go from being physical like when we were children, to more spiritual
in nature. Romans 8 (NKJV) is full of encouragement. Romans 8:5 NKJV says,
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of
the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the
Spirit." And verse 26 says, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered." Verse 31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God
is for us, who can be against us?" Verse 37 says, "Yet in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." To put it simply, we
have a Heavenly Father who is up in the stands for us and cheering us on.
He tells us we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us.
(Philippians 4:13). He takes our fear away and replaces it with strength
and then we get that strange look of "knowing" on our faces because our
Heavenly Father just told us, "Don't be afraid, I'm right here.....Patti