I was reading one of my all-time favorite children’s stories with John this week, and he dressed up in costume to fully experience “Where the Wild Things Are”.

“Are the wild things scary, mommy?” he asked.

“No, they are not.”

“Why not, mommy?”

I thought about it. They looked scary. They had big, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, crazy claws and were three times the size of Max, plus they outnumbered him. I thought about it more and then replied to John, “They are not scary because Max isn’t afraid of them.” As the words came out of mouth, I realized they were profound!

Scary is not defined by claws, teeth and size, but by what we are afraid of. If we don’t have fear toward things; they are not scary. Our thoughts toward fears define them. While they try to size us up, really it is us who gets to size them up. And we decide.

Does this mean we should be unwise and careless? No! But it means we can be strong in the Lord and trust Him when He says, “Fear not, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10)

And what happens when we are not afraid? Those monsters in our lives:

-Having that hard conversation

-Telling that secret that has been locked in the dark

-Stepping out in faith when it’s scary

-Giving more than is comfortable

-Taking a chance on someone

-Forgiving when it means letting go

-Saying you are sorry

-Pursuing that God-given dream

-Trusting when it doesn’t make sense

Once these are looked straight in the eye with courage, they aren’t that scary any more. Our very fears can transform into things that bow down to us; they recognize us as royalty.

As believers, we can celebrate this!

What’s more, they become great adventures!

And then, in the end, like Max…we go home. We go back to our Daddy’s house. We’ll be safe in the end, and thankful for the times we didn’t stay in the boat afraid of those monsters, never knowing the great adventure in store. Never knowing they really…weren’t scary at all.