thoughts on the news of the day: amygdala

hmmm…..

            Living without fear?  Wonderful?  Maybe not.  A 44 year old mother of three is being studied at the University of Iowa because she has a medical condition that causes her not to feel any fear.  The specific psychological impairment is the result of a rare disease that damaged a structure in the brain called amygdala.  In spite of its appeal, living without any fear at all can be dangerous.  For example, what if you were not afraid to jump off that bridge, or handle that poisonous snake? I think we all want to live without being afraid.  But a healthy awareness of danger is different, and important.   

            Ok.. I have to confess, I got into a little fear myself this morning.  My internet connection was not working and I panicked.  My connection with the world was severed, or so I thought.  But that was just a self-centered fear that I wouldn’t get something I wanted. I have heard it said that most fear boils down to one of two things:  fear of not getting what we want or fear of losing what we have.  Yes, we should be afraid of things that might harm us, its OK to be a little cautious when things don’t seem quite right. But our fear sometimes goes way beyond that; and that’s when we need God to step in and calm our anxiety.

            My prayer for you today is that God would give you protection from danger and faith to conquer your fear.

            hmmm…..