Picked up a random poetry book From the crowded shelf. Quick easy hour read: Delight and wonder. Then, Found…
Molded by Mistakes and Fear
Yesterday, I listened to a sermon about God as the Potter and we as the clay He molds. I like the image of a master craftsman at work at his potter’s wheel turning and turning the wet clay until it is just right. I feel like I am being turned everyday in some way or another.
Do you know what I mean?
Jeremiah 18:3 says, “So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working with clay at the wheel. He was making a pot from clay. But there was something wrong with the pot. So the potter used that clay to make another pot. With his hands he shaped the pot the way he wanted it to be,” (Bible Gateway).
Every day we make mistakes. Every day is a fresh opportunity to learn from our mistakes to make us stronger. Today I told a student I would help her get some gloves for her chilled hands. Thirty minutes later when I had time to get them, I couldn’t remember who I had promised them to, only that the girl was wearing a pink coat. Why did my memory fails me in such a short amount of time? Why did I allow myself to forget, to make that mistake for something so trivial?
What do you do when you fear making a mistake or actually mess up something?
Part of my anxiety is that I am afraid I will mess up and so I stress about it before the opportunity has even happened. This is like when I have to do an interview for a job, or when I have to talk to a parent. I am so worried about saying the wrong thing, or forgetting important information, that I am not able to focus on anything leading up to the pivotal moment.
Why do I allow myself to fret so much? Why do I not just trust myself? I know I am capable of doing whatever I am faced with each day. I have been molded by my troubles. My worry and fear seem to be little nicks in the clay that I cannot avoid. I just have to keep smoothing them out and moving on until I am made stronger.
The awesome thing is I know I do not have to face each mistake, each bout of fear alone.
I have my family and friends around me to remind me how I am not alone. Reassurance from my daughters, my co-workers, and my husband keeps me going. Every time I am faced with a challenge or make a mistake, I must remember to take it as a positive opportunity to make me stronger.
Dr. Jennice Vilhauer offer this advice on dealing with fear:
“If the anxiety you feel seems stressful, try to refocus your thoughts on all the positive reasons why you want to do what you are feeling anxious about. If that doesn’t work you may need to pull back toward your comfort zone a little until the distress goes down to a tolerable level of discomfort. “
If you fail, then you have to be careful not to let the failure keep you from trying again. I used to do this with writing. If you fail, try again. You are still being molded and we are not expected to be perfect.
I definitely have learned this lesson the hard way. Read about it in my novel, Married to an Atheist A Love Story from Idaho.
Let me hear from you! Leave a comment below. What do you do to overcome fear?
References:
Bible Gateway. “Jeremiah 18 The Potter and The Clay.” Bible Gateway. N.D. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+18&version=ERV.
Vilhauer, Jennice. “Should You Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway? “ Psychology Today, 30 Jun 2018. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-forward/201806/should-you-feel-the-fear-and-do-it-anyway.