Thunderstorms

"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Early one morning, I was awaken by the crashing boom of thunder. It was the type of thunder that rattles the very walls of the house. There was very little lightening to warn you of the coming thunder. At first is was odd not to see the lightening followed by the thunderous sound.

Quickly though it lulled me back to sleep. That in itself would amaze many of my siblings. I am unsure how it developed, but I had a deathly fear of storms when growing up. And since I grew up on the plains of Nebraska, large thunderstorms were common.

The mere thought of a raging storm filled with lightening and thunder raised fears of great proportion in me. There were times in which I felt so afraid and would cower in a basement corner. The fear holding a tight grip on me in a way I couldn't explain.

Fear can have a debilitating effect on you in ways that can crush your ability to do anything at all. It stifles and takes hold of your entire life. Fear basically keeps you from moving on with your life.

Take the news stories of the telecommunications giant AT&T agreeing to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion dollars. A staggering sum of money, but with many individual people affected. I know many of those people that work in many various positions. They range from sales associates, to managers and even regional directors. Each of these people will be affected; both in good and bad ways.

One of these folks is a store manager and recently admitted that she at first could have gone to fear with the news. She could have thought the worst; allowing doom and gloom to cover her life. But she resolved to trust first in her faith and secondly in her ability to push through whatever happens.

You may think that is a naive way of thinking. But it is always easier to go to the negative. It always takes more effort to remain positive. Success and achievement take effort.

When the storms come crashing through your window, will you allow fear to rule? Or will you face the fear with resolve to overcome it?

I can tell you that my fear of thunderstorms caused me sleepless nights. Storms ruled the day until I realized that it wasn't the storms; it was the fear that I was allowing to rule my life.

The first crack of thunder still wakes me at night, but it also lulls me back to a gentle sleep. Fear remains outside to fend for itself, far from the life you are building.