Tuesday, June 20, 2006

No Fear

Had the neatest experience the other day. A friend called to say that her son had been experiencing bouts of fear. Um, no. That’s not the neat part (silly); it’s what happened next.

She and her husband spent time with their child, praying and talking with him, and showing him they cared. The next day, she opened up her copy of Focus on the Family Magazine and noticed an article on childhood fears. Huh. She flipped to the page and began comparing the list of suggestions to what she and her husband had done, checking off as she went. “We did this.” Check. “We did this one.” Check, check. “We did that too.” Check, check, check.

Then she noticed that I was the author.

She called that same day to tell me that God had used that article to confirm much to her and her husband. Can anyone say, “humbling?”

It was.

Frankly, I’d been a bit cranky about that piece, noting just days earlier that my jokes had been edited out (well, I never…) And some of my cute little anecdotes didn’t make the cut either (so it’s really not about me?) Obviously, though, what God wanted in, stayed in, and he’s already begun using it as only he does: to instruct, to comfort, to confirm.

In spite of me.


(p.s. I wrote this piece a few years back. My daughters are older, and they'd like you to know that :-)

7 comments:

Sharon Hinck said...

WOW!
This story totally inspired me. Our writing can MATTER to someone else. God can use it (even without the great jokes and anecdotes) to help someone.

Thanks, Julie. Thanks for following God's lead and writing. Thanks for sharing this story. I needed it today - BIG time.

Julie Carobini said...

Dear Sharon~ Our God is AWESOME, isn't he? Thanks for writing!

Chaos-Jamie said...

They edited out your jokes? Man! They are supposed to print one of mine in October. Without the jokes, there's nothing left!

(Because this post was all about ME, right?)

Rebecca LuElla Miller said...

Julie, great post. Amazing how God used that article to help that other family and to teach you (and us through you) something valuable. It just makes me so aware of how nothing is wasted in His economy.

On another subject, we have a SF/Fantasy blog tour going and I'd like to invite you to stop by A Christian Worldview of Fiction. After all, your friend Sharon will be involved in one in the not too distant future (Lord willing!) Plus it may give you some ideas about Chocolate Beach promotion.

Becky

Nicole said...

That is a really cool story! It IS weird how God works isn't it?

Anonymous said...

oh how cool is THAT?!

Julie said...

And by linking to the article you've helped another person. My kids have been having quite a bit of anxiety since our car accident 6 weeks ago (read more at desertdiva.typepad.com) and seem constantly afraid of getting into another accident. I've used some of these ideas but am looking forward to implementing the others. Thanks!