My niece is awash with fear as she awaits the birth of twin boys. I want to reach out and comfort her, tell her that everything is going to be alright, and that God will give her and Paul the graces they need to do the tasks in front of them. I don't say anything because I don't want to offend her or make her feel put down. I wish that I were wiser and knew what to say in these situations. I feel like she is hypnotizing herself with negative thinking. She is focusing on everything that can go wrong and ignoring that it may also go right. Even while I'm writing this, I can see that prayer is the solution to everything.
I can give myself the same lecture. I've been imagining that I will continue to gain weight and become housebound or have to live in a long term care facility. I have been imagining that I will have mini-strokes and be unable to enjoy reading or movies and tv serials. I have been imagining that my sister is angry with me for some unknown reason, and that's why she hasn't called me. I've been hypnotizing myself with much less reason than my niece has.
Today, I'm going to go to a self-help group at the counseling center. I'm nervous, because I don't know how these groups work, or what behavior is required. I'm afraid that I will get nothing out of it, and/or that I will commit such an egregious mistake that I will become persona non grata. Writing my fears down helps me to see that this is another area that I have been hypnotizing myself into expecting the worse.
In conclusion, I think my niece and I are suffering from the fear of the unknown. We have been so focused on what can go wrong that we forget that there is an equal chance that everything will go right. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
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