Fear

Anxiety.  Something I battle daily.  In fear and worry, my time is wasted daily.  No matter how big or how small the issue is, I give way to the gut-wrenching anxiety.  I've suffered from it my entire life but was too stubborn to recognize the fear.  I can remember so many times when I was younger when I'd be paralyzed with fear in a situation everyone else around me could handle with ease.  It makes a lot more sense now but at the time it was terrifying.  Anxiety Disorder is something a person more than likely won't understand unless they too have experienced the magnitude of a panic attack over some trivial thing. 

Picking up the phone is something that causes me great anxiety.  I rarely talk on the phone, whether it's answering when someone calls or pressing the send button to call them.  A friend of mine calls it 'send button phobia.'  It doesn't matter who it is on the other line, I always have anxiety when it comes to using the phone.  It isn't an excuse by any means, but makes it difficult to keep in touch with the people I care the most about.  The longer I put a phone call off, the worse it gets.  Today, the anxiety got the best of me. 

I turned to the Bible for clarity and guidance and this is what I found:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:6-7)