When things look a little different, don't give in to your fear.

When things look a little different, don't give in to fear.

The story goes that there were a bunch of shepherds looking after sheep in the hills of Galilee, when, in the dark of night, a horde of Angels lit up the sky like a thousand lightning bolts all at once that held their glow.

I guess you could say that that night looked a little different for those shepherds. Despite what you may have read in children's books, in Ancient Israel, Shepherds were most often outcasts. Men who had lost the right to live in the community were sent to tend sheep in the hills where they would wander alone and seldom around those they could do harm. To this unexpected group of people who were considered not worthy of living amongst their friends and family, the Angels appeared. They were the first to hear that something unexpected, something a little different, something miraculous had happened:

A baby had been born who would grow up and become something no one would expect him too.

The first thing the Angel said to them was:

"Don't be afraid..."*

And these men, on this night that was like non-other they had experienced before, through their terror and surprise, their curiosity arose, and they defied the expectations placed on them, and they ran back to the town they had been banished from and found an audience with a new family at the climax of a sacred and holy experience.

What looks different for you right now? As we head into the holiday season, with all its rituals and expectations and pressures, maybe things are a little different for you this year, a little more mysterious. When faced with the unexpected, and in the face of things that have changed our lives in ways we didn't anticipate, fear is often one of the first emotions we feel in response. Humans are creatures of habit. We spend time and money and energy on security and safety and certainty, and for many, 2020 has been a year that has challenged our perceptions of security, safety and certainty. And if that's you, hear that otherworldly voice echo out across the ages and say to you:

"Don't be afraid..."

Now, look. It's a little impossible to live a life free of fear. You are going to feel and experience it from time to time, and there's not much you can do about it, except this:

Don't let it steer your ship. When fear comes knocking - the fear of the unknown, that unexpected things bring with it - allow curiosity to rise up to meet it.

A holy sense of curiosity will take your fear by the hand and show it how to spot miracles. Like it did with those shepherds long ago, it will lead you to sacred places of anticipation and wonder, and even though the mystery remains, and life is still uncertain, instead of that sinking feeling of woe and worry, it will leave a glint in your eye and heart, the anticipation for a miracle.

Mindful Prompt: Let fear give way to holy curiosity; you never know where it will take you, but you can be sure it will be somewhere gracious and good.

Continued in the series "When Things Look A Little Different", this week with a subscription in the App.

Written by Liz Milani.
Instagram: @thepracticeco

* Luke 2:10.