Today has been a day full of meetings, all important, just stacked on top of one another with barely a moment to shift gears before the next. Ever have one of those days? They can be mind numbing and spirit drenching.That's when it is more important than ever to notice the gifts that show up in the oddest of places.

As I headed into meeting number three at a little before 10 a.m., I grabbed a cup of tea. The smell of cinnamon and spice jarred my senses as I situated myself at the table, ready to take on what the hour held. I twisted the string of the teabag around the handle of my pale green cup. Then my eyes fell on what was printed on the teabag tag: "The first and great commandment is: Don't let them scare you." It was attributed to Elmer Davis(1890-1958).

Davis was a well-known news reporter who worked for The New York Times and was also the  Director of the United States Office of War Information during WWII. He is the author of Giant Killer, a retelling of the story of David. So it is clear Mr. Davis was well acquainted with some pretty frightening situations and understood firsthand what it meant to be scared. From his fascination with David and his troubled life,it is clear he liked to take on stories that have fear as their centerpiece.

I felt gratitude to Elmer Davis for his words. They helped me think of all the ways in which we allow fear to guide our actions in the course of our daily lives. Fear seems to guide so much in our culture: Fear of losing something or someone important to us. Fear of being overlooked or under appreciated. Fear of illness or uncertainty. So many fears…..so many ways to be scared.

In the Christian scriptures, Jesus moves about his daily walk often repeating the same words to those he meets:"Do not be afraid." He says it to the rich, the poor, the ill, the young, the old, the powerful and the powerless.This voice of God in human skin walked through the world with the message of the eternal non-anxious presence: Do not be afraid.

Where is the fear in your life? What is seeking to scare you? The 'commandment' of the one who calmed the storms that threatened to overwhelm his disciples and the one who sought to tell anew the story of the the child who confronted the giant Goliath is the same.

Don't let them scare you.

"Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be
afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died
down. They were completely amazed," Mark 6