One of my biggest fears has been flying. I have others, but this is the big one. So when an opportunity to fly to Singapore and join a ship to cruise around Australia came up, my first instinct was to say no way. I looked at the details and was sad that I would miss out on so much but I wanted to be in my comfort zone and feel safe so I just dismissed it. Very slowly, different pieces came together that would make up the possibility of being able to take the time out and do the cruise. All of my excuses were broken down one by one. Who would look after the house, my pets? How could I get permission to delay starting a new job? How on earth could I fly so far when the most I have managed is 7 hours of excruciating anxiety flying to Dubai? How could I be so far away from home?
Answers just came and it dawned on me – very slowly- that I was gently being pushed to tackle all of these worries and take the holiday. Offers to look after the house and pets, my job agreeing to delay the start date, finding an airline that broke up the journey into stages with stays at hotels to make it all seem shorter. Finally I was out of excuses and as I said, the feeling that I was being encouraged to make this trip was overwhelming.
I would call it a leap of faith when the cruise was booked. It was a late booking and so there wasn’t much time to think about it so I plunged into all of the preparations and tried not to dwell on how I would cope. The day of departure arrived and I was sort of excited but faced two lots of 7 hour flights with a short lay over between. I could only try not to think about it and just go forward and do what I had to do to board the flights and keep going.
I’m writing this because during all of the time I was in the air I felt a calmness that was really different for me. I don’t and never will like flying, but I found I could cope. Being in such a beautiful far away place as Singapore was so enriching, as was all of the Australian placed we visited. I felt so freed from the burden I had carried with me for so many years that made me feel I had to stay close to home to feel safe and not put my life at risk. Life is all about risk. Many people have suggested staying in your comfort zone isn’t a healthy, happy way to live and I discovered this was absolutely right. This was the trip of a lifetime, but it was also a release from a prison I had created around myself.
All of this was possible because of my trust in God to see me through, keep me safe and bring me home. I felt it was God who was pushing me to take this trip so that I could see that I was restricting my life too much and it is not a good way to live.
If you are reading this and feel the same, give this to God and ask for his help to set you free. There should be no limits to what you can do and if you do it in faith and by trusting God, all will be well and you will become a newer and freer person.
God bless,
Widows Mote 