But perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18)

There is a thin line between love and fear. Overcoming a fear is sometimes the passage way to love. That was shown to me sometime ago and the gift came to me through a rat named Emily.

Emily came to live with us as a birthday present to my son. I personally was afraid of rats and as it turned out so was my son. Emily was cared for but was void of one important ingredient, love.

Our fear of her overtook that emotion so heavy gloves were dawned to pick her up to move her so her home could be cleaned. It was not only upsetting to us but to Emily as well. Heavy gloves coming at her was scary and she no doubt could feel our fear and nervousness.

One day Emily became ill with an ear infection. We learned from a vet that rats should have a partner to help clean areas that they can not reach. We elected not to give Emily a mate because of our fear but a wonderful thing occurred through her illness.

The gloves were too big and bulky to hold the medicine for her ears so I put the medicine in without them and would then give her a little stroke on the head. I realized that Emily was not vicious and willingly soaked up the love given.

This led to the fear being dismembered and what grew from no fear was love. Emily and I became very close and I started recognizing her qualities as a gift that fear had blinded me in the past. It was a sad day when Emily passed on but she gave me a great gift of revelation. Fear freezes the mind and love opens it. She also opened the path for new rats to become my pets.

A new rat...a new love

To drill that point across my children had come home from the mall and told me of an event that occurred at the Mr. Puppy store. One of their friends neglected to read a sign posted on one of the puppy’s pens that said, “Don’t pet me, I’m afraid and will bite.”
She put her had towards the puppy and it bit her. My daughter pointed the sign out to her friend and I saw then another devastating quality of fear. Fear bars the door to accepting love as well.

I reflected to the times that fear had caused me to symbolically bite or be bitten by someone who was possessed by fear. It was easy to forgive that person for the act and to forgive myself of my acts in those times of fear.

I approach life differently now in a less judging way. I analyze the situation and causes of events from people that symbolically bite me. If it is motivated by fear then I take on an “Emily quality” and forgive and wait patiently for the fear to be dissolved so love can come through the passage way of life.
It is not easy and sometimes I fail with the ones I love most but when my thoughts of Emily appear then I recheck my attitude and analyze my path.

Do you have a fear that could turn to love?

about gracehodgin

Grandma Blogger encouraging grand parents to remain active in the lives of their grand children and to inspire imagination and creativity.
When Grace is not writing articles for her blog then she morphs into GracieLoo and is off to ZombieZoo where she is the resident Grandma who hands out cookies, kisses, band-aids for booboos and reads stories to her beloved ZombieZoo Residents.