One day, I had made plans to visit my friend Mary Kate. I was running late. In fact, I became so upset on my way to her house that I threw up in the car. Not pretty, I know. But fear is ugly. It not only cripples and paralyzes us and keeps us from doing what our hearts want to do, it can also mess with our stomachs! I decided to go to Mary Kate’s house anyway because she is the kind of friend whose house you can go to when your nose is running, your face is swollen from crying, and you have throw-up on your shirt. (She’s now my sister-in-law, and I love that.)
Still, I thought it might be a good idea to try to calm down a little bit first. So I drove around a neighborhood not far from her house. Suddenly, my brother John Luke appeared. He had been at Mary Kate’s house because he was dating her at the time, but for some reason, he ended up just where I needed him at just the right moment. He could see I was falling apart, but he had no idea what was wrong. He tried to get me to roll down the car window and talk to him, but I refused. I was so caught up in fear and so upset that I wasn’t thinking clearly. So John Luke jumped on my car. And he would not get off. I drove around that neighborhood for forty minutes with my brother on my car. Talk about love! He was not going to let me be alone, and he was not going to let me go—no matter what.
Eventually, I just decided to pull into Mary Kate’s driveway and John Luke got off the car, and we went inside Mary Kate’s house. Together, he and Mary Kate helped me settle down and began to talk me through the situation. “You can do this, Sadie,” they said. “It’ll be great.” I wasn’t convinced, but they kept encouraging me. That encouragement was even more remarkable because John Luke really wanted to be on Dancing with the Stars himself. Had they called him instead of me, he would have been on the plane to LA that day without one bit of fear or hesitation. It would have been pure joy and excitement for him.
As much as he wanted to be on the show, when he saw me having such a hard time with it, he never said, “What’s wrong with you? This is the coolest thing ever, and you’re saying you don’t want to do it?” He never even mentioned his own dream of appearing on the show. He simply listened to me, spoke truth to me, loved me unconditionally, and showed the most beautiful display of selfless generosity I think I’ve ever seen.
By the time I left Mary Kate’s house, I felt much better. Their affirmation and support had taken me from being almost torn apart by fear to a place of decision. I ultimately decided to go for it and appear on Dancing with the Stars. Even after the show started, with every practice and every performance, I had to face my fear. Sometimes I felt like arrows of fear were flying at me from all different directions (just like in Ephesians 6:16)—fear of not getting my steps right, fear that something awkward might happen with my wardrobe, fear of letting my partner down, fear of so many new experiences in such a short time. Day after day, rehearsal after rehearsal, televised show after televised show, I gradually found myself no longer dodging arrows but surrounded by a shield of faith that knocked them to the ground. I was still aware of them, but much better able to hold up my shield of faith so they would ricochet off of it, powerless.
It’s not that things aren’t scary. They are, and they will continue to be. But each of us has to come to a deep, personal realization that God has already conquered fear—and by the power of His Spirit we can live completely free from fear. There’s so much more to this life, so much we can experience and give to others if we can break free from fear. If we can learn to let God lead us instead of letting fear control us.
HERE’S SOME ENCOURAGEMENT:
If you know fear is talking, go ahead and silence it. You be the one who does the talking!
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN PRAY:
Lord, give me to strength to say yes when You want me to do something. Give me guidance to know what to do next in my life. I surrender my no to You and agree with what You want for me. If You’re saying yes, I say yes, too.
This is an excerpt from Sadie’s book, Live Fearless! Get it here!
I really like your book Fearless. It’s so awesome.
Hi Sadie!
I’ve been following your messages and writing for a while now, and just want to say what an inspiration you are to me. I am from the UK, in an area where quite honestly, the majority of people are not Christians or even necessarily religious. I was raised a Christian by my family, and went to church every Sunday growing up. I went through a bit of a ‘faithless’ teenage phase where I turned away from God, however in the past few years I have been turning towards Him once again and His word has helped guide me through some really difficult things. I suffered from anxiety since I was 16, and when I was 23, I had a horrific experience whilst moving abroad to a South Africa to a new job. I ended up having to come back to the UK as my anxiety was through the roof. Going back to church and also therapy helped me get stable again, but I always found your messages inspiring too. I was so scared to take a leap of faith and put myself out there again, but reading your book Liv Fearless gave me the push I needed, and in September I travelled alone to Bolivia for 2 months to work at a wildlife sanctuary. It was so liberating finally allowing God to take over, despite the fact that every step of the journey there my whole body was screaming at me to turn around, and I swore I was going to be sick or faint. But I made it. And on the long bus journey on the way to the jungle, I re-read your book. My spirit immediately felt lighter. At 25 I feel I can now face my fears, and although I owe so much of that to God and to myself for pushing past my fear, I also owe you for writing about your experiences and giving me inspiration and hope. I only have one Christian friend. Last Sunday in my church, I swear I was the only person under about 40. It’s tough being a young Christian adult in the UK as so many others in this age group consider themselves atheists, and don’t want to listen to anything else, and laugh at anyone who believes in God. One of my best friends is actually a Muslim, and she understands my faith better than any of my other friends, which is such a beautiful thing. I get envious when I see what you have around you, a huge, faith filled family and a great Christian support group of friends around you. It’s my hope maybe one day you could come to the UK, and maybe inspire others here to follow the word of God 🙂
Sending you lots of love and light and prayers ✝️?
I so needed this tonight. I have an opertunity to be an assistant pastor and it is a big step and fear is taking control also. But i know God is in control and has opened this door so if you will i ask for prayer for courage and wisdom in this sintuation.
this was really helpful!!! i’m going through a lot of stress right now and this honestly made me feel a lot better!! thanks so much!
Sadie is SUCH an important person in my life. Though I fully believe God can move without her, the fact that she always answers His calls meets me right where I’m at Everytime. I CAN NOT wait to meet her one day and hopefully go on the Live Original Team’s L.O. Tour … And become a leader through the LO box one day. This team inspires me each and every day, constantly keeping me motivated. I can’t wait to be there for everything they have coming. Thank you guys for shining so brightly and boldly!!!!!??????
Hey Sadie, I bought your book last week and so far it has given me hope in my fight with anxiety! We need more people offering hope rather than hate and fear!
I read your posts every morning and they are so helpful!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!
Thanks Sadie Keep your flock strong!!