Relearning to be Securely Attached

I still remember standing in those endless roller coaster lines as a child. A parent or friend would patiently coach me through the wait.

"Look at me."

"Stay focused on me."

"It's going to be worth it."

Part of me believed them. I could see it on the faces of everyone stepping off the ride. They were laughing, smiling, eager to go again.

But another part of me was absolutely convinced I wasn't going to survive. We had done this countless times before. Every single time I would make it all the way to the loading platform... and then lose my nerve. I'd walk straight through the ride and out the exit instead.

Looking back, I'm amazed by what was happening inside me. My rational mind knew I was safe. My frightened mind was screaming something entirely different. Two completely different realities seemed to exist at the same time.

Isn't that remarkable?

God designed us with the capacity to wrestle internally. We can know something is true while every emotion insists the opposite. We can have evidence in front of us and still be overwhelmed by fear.

Then one day we discover His voice. Not merely our rational thoughts trying to overpower our fear, but the quiet, steady voice of the One who sees the entire ride from beginning to end.

There are storms far more frightening than any roller coaster. They are moments where everything inside us wants to run and our circumstances seem to shout louder than truth. If you are here and familiar with my story, I know we share similar storm stories. 🤍

And yet His invitation remains the same, familiar like those voices from childhood... but with an authority and love that could walk us through any circumstance.

"Look at Me."

"Stay focused on Me."

Trust doesn't mean the storm suddenly feels less frightening. It means fixing our eyes on the One who is completely unshaken by it. Some storms rage violently, ominously. The fear screams just as loudly, and all our senses are past their thresholds. I have been so scared that I dared not take my eyes off Him for months. That level of hypervigilance is exhausting. But He stays.

Then we reach the other side and realize the greatest thing He overcame wasn't the storm around us.

It was the fear within us.

Courage doesn't come from the absence of fear. It comes from the presence of Someone more trustworthy than the fear.

God doesn't always remove the storm before asking us to trust Him through it.