What are you most afraid of?

I took a short trip to Tokyo with my two girls the other day, and it was amazing, we had a great time! We went to a summer camp for kids, organized by Lifehouse church, with about 100 people. We played in the pool, broke watermelons blindfolded, and roasted marshmallows over a big bonfire. It was awesome!

But, I was traveling alone with my two girls, and I was a bit nervous. I was worried about the heat, and yes Tokyo is way way wayyyy hotter than Hokkaido in the summer. It felt like a sauna, wow! But we survived~ I was worried about taking the trains, but we did okay.

But then two things happened I wasn’t expecting. One, crazy thunderstorms! With lightning and cracking thunder, I couldn’t sleep for a few hours because it was so intense!  Hokkaido doesn’t get thunderstorms like that, so I forgot what a powerful thunderboom felt like. It felt like the whole house shook! My heart was racing. But of course, we survived.

Then, the second scare was at summer camp, my younger daughter woke up in the middle of the night, unwell.

So, what are you most afraid of?

I’m a bit scared of heights, but I still love roller coasters. I love riding the rides at Rusutsu here in Hokkaido near Niseko, that place is awesome!

But I must say, my biggest fear is… my kids throwing up…

I know that’s weird, but, it terrifies me, thinking about cleaning it up, and what is causing it, because I don’t want to get sick either! So, I kind of panic when I think my girls might get sick.

And in the middle of the night, my youngest daughter started moaning and said “Owchie…” And I jumped up in bed beside her, grabbed the closest bag, and waited to see if she would get sick. My heart was really racing then!!! I had to calm myself down with deep breathing. And I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced panic, but it can be pretty intense.

A couple of years ago, I used to be so scared of my daughters throwing up, that if ever it happened, I would scream for my husband to come, and I would run in the opposite direction. Not my finest moment, okay? 

Kids throw up, that’s normal. So to be a good parent, I needed to overcome this fear!! So I tried. And I’m Christian, so I prayed! My prayer was “God! Please don’t let my kids throw up!” But when I prayed that, I felt God nudge me and say, “Sorry Isis, you need to face this.” Because realistically, it’s good to throw up to get whatever bad inside you out… so… I changed my prayer to “God, give me strength to deal with the throw up when it happens. Give me peace.” And immediately I felt a peace I cannot explain!! Since that prayer, I can now take care of my daughters no matter what. I can even rub their backs and say, “It’s okay, you’re doing great…”

So back to the Tokyo trip, my youngest daughter was moaning in her sleep, is she going to get sick? My heart was racing, but I tried to calm down again. Deep breaths. Pray for peace. I will not fear. And after I prayed that prayer and really told myself to believe it, then my daughter suddenly sat up and said “Mama!”

“Yes love?” And I get the bag ready, right?

“Are we going to see Leonie (her cousin) again tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes love! You can see your friends tomorrow at another great day at summer camp!”

“Oh, great!” zzzzz

And I knew immediately, she was fine!!! I could sleep in peace after that.

So, I don’t know what your fears are. But I know first hand, the only way to overcome your fear is to face it. Then you realize, “Oh, it’s not that bad…”

Will you keep running away like I did? “I don’t want to!!”

Well, come on, you just gotta do it. You need to “Take the plunge.”

That’s the phrase for this week. “Take the Plunge!” 飛び込もう！”

It means “to commit yourself to a course of action that might make you feel nervous.”

Or “to make a decision to do something, especially after thinking about it for a long time”

Fear of public speaking?

Fear of being judged?

Fear of failing?

Fear of relationships?

Fear of performing in front of others?

We all have fears. You may not erase that fear forever, but you can still do it afraid, that’s courage.

If we can, let’s try to face it, and overcome it! The more you do, the easier it gets!