Jenny's in her mid-20s, and in a bid to branch out and become more independent, she recently moved out of home for the first time. She's leased an apartment and moved out on her own.
And to her surprise, she's found herself getting scared at night. When she lived with her family, she always felt safe and secure, and it never even crossed her mind that she might have this fear. But now, as soon as darkness falls, she becomes terrified of the possibility of intruders, jumps at every little noise, and feels defenceless. It's got to the point where she's going back to her parents place most nights to sleep, and just going to the flat in the daytime, between uni classes.
Jenny feels frustrated. For starters, she's living in a very safe area and it just seems irrational to be so afraid; Secondly she's a Christian, and wants to be able to trust God to protect her. Especially when the bible says things like "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8), and "When you lie down, you will not be afraid...your sleep will be sweet". (Proverbs 3:24).
Getting a flatmate is definitely a possibility for Jenny; that could help - But she wants to try and overcome this fear before she changes her whole living arrangement first. Even if she did have a flatmate, there would no doubt still be times when she's on her own at night, so she wants to learn not to be afraid.
What's your advice for Jenny?
• If you went through a time of being afraid at night, what triggered it, and what was the solution for you?
• Are there any practical things that Jenny can do?
• Spiritually speaking, what are some good ways of trusting God to protect her and conquering fear? Jenny has already prayed about this with her father, but still has some fear to overcome.
• Jenny's thinking of moving back home again as one option, but would that be giving in?
• If you've had to learn to trust God on a particular area in your life, what was it that helped you to trust Him?
Comments (1)
I'm a happily married mum of 3 kids aged 19,16 & 12, yet in the last few years I've had times when I find it really hard, (because of fear) to leave my home. I'm a very out going person normally, so to find I was fearful of going outside seamed plain silly. Yet it was real and that was the first thing I had to face. It's an ongoing process; I would still find it easier to stay home, but I'm working my way at going out. My family have been great in supporting me, yet I still had to do it myself. For me I've found that if I take each outing as a step on it's own. I know and trust God to get me to the car park, then out of the car and into the shop. The next step is to do the shopping, then back to the car. With each step broken down like that I gradually know God was with me keeping me safe. I’ve also found a good Christian psychologist to help work through how fear became a part of my life. I’m at the 2 year mark now, and I’ve still got a way to go, but what I thought was impossible, now looks like it may be possible.
Posted by Jy Good | April 18, 2010 9:39 PM
Posted on April 18, 2010 21:39