Conquering the waves of fear

The water level was breaking records. That’s what I’d been hearing even before the summer began. I had plans to be a counselor-in-training for the white-water rafting program at a camp for Christian Scientists in Colorado. White-water rafting is one of my favorite activities and has been one of my biggest passions for the past few years.

At first, I felt excited about the high water, because it would mean new challenges and an immense amount of fun. But then, fear crept in. I began feeling scared of all the things that could go wrong. The river community knows that high water is the best, but that it also comes with many risks and dangers. It didn’t help that it was also my first year on staff, which brought its own set of pressures. 

I caught myself looking at the summer through a lens of fear, and as camp got underway, I realized that needed to change. My job was to serve the camp and the campers. Allowing fear to dominate my thoughts would only limit my ability to help others. So, on my day off, I took the time to do what has always helped me in the past: I turned to the Bible and to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy to find some inspiration that could help me address these fears prayerfully. This passage that I found in Science and Health stood out: “If you are yourself lost in the belief and fear of disease or sin, and if, knowing the remedy, you fail to use the energies of Mind in your own behalf, you can exercise little or no power for others’ help” (p. 455).