Have you ever been scared of anything? Have you ever woken to the screams of a child who has had a scary dream? Or maybe fear has crept in through a television show, movie or even a story book. Fear has a way of sneaking into our hearts and minds in unique ways and sometimes, when fear has found it’s way in, it’s difficult to get rid of that fear. Fear is an interesting emotion, Psychology Today says: ‘Fear is generally considered a reaction to something immediate that threatens your security or safety, such as being startled by someone suddenly jumping out at you from behind a bush. The emotion of fear is felt as a sense of dread, alerting you to the possibility that your physical self might be harmed, which in turn motivates you to protect yourself.’

As parents, the emotion of fear is definitely a tough one to navigate and teach our children about. How do we explain that what we are feeling is about something the might or might not happen? The completities of fear are astounding.

Today, I would love to share with you, a conversation I (recently) had with my gorgeous three year old granddaughter. Mia (her name) is going through a stage whereby she is frightened throughout the day but especially at night. The dark always adds a new dimension and element to fear. Mia is frightened that something or someone is going to get her and hurt her (as mentioned above, a sense of dread). Mia’s feelings are compounded by the fact that her five year old brother, Joshua, has a fascination with running around the house being a scary monster or a witch or anything he thinks would be scary. He likes to tell Mia that, ‘he’s going to get her.’ Needless to say, this situation isn’t helping Mia at the moment.

This is something Mia has to walk through and as tough as it is, it’s important that she learns how to feel and to understand that she is safe, no matter what. Mia’s mother, Leanne (my dauther-in-love) and her father (my lovely son) are trying their best to teach Josh not to scare his sister. They explain that it isn’t nice to make someone feel scared and although he finds it amusing, what she’s feeling is very real and it’s unsettling for her. Although Josh needs to be taught this valuable lesson, what is more empowering for Mia, is that her parents are teaching her why she doesn’t need to be or feel scared. They are teaching Mia that she can be confident knowing she is safe from all these scary things like monsters, witches or anything else because angels are looking after her all the time. Leanne is teaching Mia at a young age how to use the thought and understanding of angels for protection. She has told Mia that she can speak to her angels and ask them to stand at each corner of their property so nothing bad can enter their house. The thought and understanding of Angels is something that children relate to well. Angels have this magical, etherial, heavenly idea to them that provide this beautiful sense of peace.

As I’ve been thinking about this and also having a few chats with Mia about her fears I’m reminded of one of my favourite verses in the bible. It’s Psalm 91:9-12 where it shows us that we all have angels that are created to protect us and they will hold us up with their hands so we won’t be hurt. What a beautiful thought and picture that is painted for us to hold on to.

“God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!” That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.”

As a grandmother, it is wonderful to confidently reassure Mia that she can ask the angels to be with her where ever she is and she can be sure they are big and strong. I tell her that some even have swords that will deal with anything at all for her. They are like the Heavely Superheros that we have access to. I tell her that I think there are a lot of bored angels out there because we aren’t calling out for their help and we aren’t assigning them duty over us and our families. So together, we called on an Angel to be by Mia’s side.

Persoanlly, I believe we all have Angels that have been especially assigned to us. We just need to call on them and ask them to walk with us, protecting us, warning us and loving us.

When Mia heard the truth about Angels, she was one very happy little girl. She is now walking in the knowledge that she has a strong Angel looking out or her. I can see her little eyes light up when she thinks or talks about her strong Angel and I can tell she is much more confident and able to deal with her fears.

I love knowing that Mia understands that she is protected and that Rob and I and our family are safe under the protection of strong Angels that are commanded over us.

By the way Josh is a work in progress, being a little boy he loves to scare who ever he can…. Boys, you have to love them.

Much love,
Susanna