Scared?

So, a few months ago my two children began to have this irrational and totally uncalled for fear of foxes. (Thank you Dora the Explorer and Swiper the Fox!) They didn't want to go upstairs without a body guard! (umm...me!) I tried repeatedly to explain to them that there were no foxes in the house, and that they couldn't get in anyway.

Well, those lovely persuasions didn't work, in fact, nothing did! Until one day, I got a bright idea and told them that, "Even if there were foxes in the house, Daddy was big enough and strong enough to protect them." They smiled up at me and asked me what I would do if a fox was in the house. I told them I would grab him by the tail, swing him over my head and toss him out the door. They aren't really afraid of them anymore. Not because I convinced them there fear was misplaced, I just gave them a better place to put their trust.

You know, the world is a scary place. It is full of foxes. Some of those really do have sharp teeth and rabies, but most of our foxes are worries and fears of our own design. I could tell you till I am blue in the face that you need not worry about this or that. But instead, I just want to remind you that you have a Father big enough to see you through the worst of foxes.

By the way, cool ending to this story: My son wants to be strong enough now. When we have our prayer time in the morning, he asks me to pray that he will be strong enough to toss out those foxes.