Facing Fears
“Now it’s down to you and me, boyka, and there’s only one chance left if you want to win. There’s a shorter trail down there, it’s the only way you get there before the others.” Will’s eyelashes, coated in white ice, framed his tired eyes as he took in what the other musher was saying. His lips had long ago cracked, but he couldn’t feel the blood that trickled onto numb skin.
“Why didn’t they go that way?”
“You follow me and you’ll find out. Hike hike!”
He watched the back of the other racer disappear into the snowy treeline as his own breath clouded the air in front of him. He was exhausted. So were his dogs, but the finish line was so close and if he didn’t take that racer’s advice, he might not stand a chance of winning at all. Besides, he wasn’t racing for himself or for the title. He needed the money to keep his family home.
When Will followed the other musher, it didn’t take long for him to figure out the answer to his own question. The shortcut was a treacherous, snaking route that ran alongside a river. Fear clutched his heart and squeezed it tight. He knew all too well what could happen in a place like that. His father had died after his team took a turn too fast on a trail that looked similar. All it took was one miscalculation, one error to throw both sled and musher into the water. When his father’s sled had gone in, he’d tried desperately to save him. The sled was heavy, loaded with fresh timber they’d just cut, and the dogs and Will were being pulled in as well. Until his father cut the cord, letting himself sink into the icy depths.
The whole horrible scene replayed in Will’s mind as he watched the other musher urge his team through the dangerous route. And then louder than his fear, the words of his father’s best friend, Ned, broke through. “When you come to face the thing you fear, let the Creator guide you.”
Will took a deep breath. When he spoke, it was to the river. “I’ll beat you. You took my father.”
“Iron Will” is one of those movies I end up watching with my kids almost once a year - it’s that good, and there are few scenes I love as much as that one, where he finally faces his deepest fear and conquers it because he trusts the voice of the Creator to guide him. He hears that still, small voice say, It’s time. Go for it! And he does.
In “Writing Down the Bones,” Natalie Goldberg says, “Everyone has a great fear in life. Naturally our great fear is usually the one most important to overcome to reach our life’s dreams.”
Challenges/Points:
We all have fears we would rather not name and face. Part of being human includes learning that the only way to prevent our fears from controlling/shaping us is to face them. To sit with them. Many times facing our fears means realizing there may actually be a small piece of truth in it but with part of the picture that we haven’t seen before.
Facing fears can be more complicated if you are dealing with anxiety or mental health. Don’t feel like you have to do any of it on your own. There are therapists and adults who would love to help you navigate those things.
Questions:
What is something you are afraid of that you’ve never told anyone about?
How do you feel after sitting with your fear for at least ten minutes?
What might the bigger picture or the truth about your fear be that you haven’t seen yet?
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