The Clouds are Farting

My son is so afraid of thunderstorms. He always has been. Even this morning he saw the grey clouds in the sky and was so worried it was going to rain on his way to school. When he was younger he would crawl out of bed and sleep on the couch while we were awake if it happened to be storming out. Thunder is very frightening to him. I tried to convince him lightning and thunder were nothing to fear. I would tell him how I enjoyed watching a good thunderstorm. He was not interested at all. I would use the oldie but goodie. "Thunder is God or angels bowling." Yeah, not convinced. Then the other night I busted out, "Thunder is just the clouds farting." I watched as his little 6 year old brain processed away and then he just giggled and grin and ran off. Then 2 nights ago he was in bed and a loud, room shaking burst of thunder filled our apartment. He jumped out of bed and came running out. I thought he was going to want to lay on the couch with us and do a little whimpering. Instead he gives me a goofy grin, looks at me and says, "The clouds are farting!" Oh man...so that's what sticks? But he doesn't fear thunder as much now because he has an understanding...some what. But this taught me an interesting lesson about fear.

 Much of what we fear is because we don't know. We don't know what it is like to run a marathon. We don't try new experiences, foods or adventures simply because the fear of the unknown outweighs our willingness to step out. We feel we need to understand something before we can no longer fear it. We do the same with people. We are sometimes afraid to get to know people of other backgrounds, nationalities or even social circles because we are worried about being accepted or we have made our own assumptions about who they are. Or we think there isn't anything we can have in common with people "so different". Fear is a good thing. It is natural. It is what keeps us from doing something stupid or reckless. But many times fear is a liar and can become overwhelming and unrealistic. We fear it/them because we don't know. We need to push past our fears and embrace the unknown. Try something new. Talk to someone that seems different than you. See what is on the other side of the unknown. You know what happens if you don't, right? Nothing.

Fear can be crippling and keep us from embracing life and others fully. See the opposite of fear is not courage. No, courage is something done in spite of fear. I can still be afraid of soi dogs and walk down my street at 2 am if I have to. The opposite of fear is love. If we learn to embrace and love life, love others and love what is around us our fear will be replaced. It's not an easy task but it is a necessary one. As a young man I usually retreated from hard things, new people and experiences because I was afraid but the older I get the more I long to love Jesus, love others, love my life. I am doing things I never would have done before because I was afraid. I would have missed out on amazing friendships over the years and incredible life experiences (good & bad). Don't let fear keep you from loving life and loving others.


PS - I wasn't that far off on my definition of thunder. Thunder: a loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the explosive expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge. - Dictionary.com