Greetings Dear Reader,
I always answer your questions. When it bears sharing, I will do so in my posts. A dear friend posed a question about those
whose fears keep them away from others.
She expressed that she feels passively judged because she is an
introvert, and sometimes her fears cause her to distance herself from others.
First, let me say thank you for allowing me to use your
private question to care for others who may feel the same as you. Second, I must say that our conversation over
this yielded an understanding for me that I do not possess through
experience. If I claimed to understand introverts,
I would be lying.
My friend and I agreed that in this post I would call her
Amanda. That is not her name but we
both like it for her. Amanda is warm, kind,
and filled with gracious love for everyone.
She also dreads large crowds, tight spaces, and public attention. She speaks of people in terms of how much
space they take up in a room. I do not
mean physical space but social and emotional space. She tells me often that she only invites me
to her home when there will be one or two other people because I fill up the
room. She explained apologetically that
it is not a bad thing because I fill it with kindness but she has seen me angry
and knows how quickly she would smother in that anger.
Amanda does not have social anxiety but she is a solid
introvert. She likes being alone or with
a couple of friends but she abhors being in crowds, sometimes to the point of
panic. Her question was a simple one: “How
can I be a faithful follower of Christ if this fear is so strong on me?” My answer, she said was comforting.
I reminded Amanda that there were times when Jesus needed solitude
just to remain right within himself. He
had the advantage of being God but his humanity was still subject to the
limitations of our frail condition. I
allowed that the instances where the people pressed around Jesus must be
troublesome for her. She agreed and said
that she had never admitted that to anyone because it sounded bad.
Amanda and I share this thought. There were times when the crowd was too much
for Jesus. He understands the introvert
and those for whom social distancing is a lifestyle. He loves them no less than those whose fears
cause them to be never alone and the life of the party. I will never claim to understand fully how Amanda
feels. I do know that like all fear the
only answer is the love of Christ.
Embracing that does not mean that Amanda or anyone else has
to become socially comfortable. It does
mean that one can feel at peace that what they are comfortable with socially. We all should work to overcome our fears and
walk in the freedom that is found in Christ.
Until that freedom is complete, we must understand that Jesus loves us
fully no matter the state we are in. It
is not bad to like solitude and dislike the social spotlight. It is not wrong to prefer the quiet of
contemplation. It is, however, true that Christ wants us to be free from all fear.
We can walk quietly if you need space to ponder this, Dear Reader.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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