"Stuck in Fear"

Monica Helms has a lot of interesting posts at her blog Trans Universe, and I want to share this one in particular with you. Here's an excerpt from "Stuck in Fear"

One of the most debilitating emotions that can grip a person’s heart and freeze a body in an instant is fear. Everyone of us fears something, be it spiders, rats, crowds, small spaces and even death. These fears don’t last long, and we can easily get past them, with the exception of death. We’ll all go there, eventually.

Yes, we all experience fear, but for many in the transgender community, fear becomes their constant companion. Society gave us a lot to fear and because of that, some trans people have raised fear to an art form. For many, fear has kept them from realizing their potential in life. It serves as their crutch, their excuse, their way to avoid growing as a person. “No. I can’t do that. It scares me.”

The fear of discovery has become a big discussion in our community. Living a fully stealth life, or even a partially stealth one can cause a person to be stuck in fear. No good way to get around this issue can be found without a lot of anxiety and stressful moments. Others have been taken advantage of, or made fun of at work, church and social events, yet fear keeps them from speaking up or standing up for their rights. I hear, “It’s okay. It’ll work out.” Let me tell you from experience, it never does. It gets worse.

Any fear can be conquered. Keep this in mind. If we had the will power and the strength to overcome all of the fears we knew would follow us when we started living our true lives, then we have the will power and strength to overcome other fears that we face in life. Society has made us afraid. We have the power to succeed and to squash the fears they put upon us. The answer to defeating fear lies in your heart. All you need to do is to let it out.

Monica touches on her faith elsewhere in her post, but I want to add a very important verse of scripture to her message:

(Phillipians 4:13, NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

We can ALL overcome fear with the promises of the Lord, like the scripture above.

Click here to read the rest of "Stuck In Fear."