Fear & Pain

I love The Biggest Loser. 
It has a little to do with the fact that I have an embarrassingly large crush on Bob Harper... But it mostly has to do with the fact that I love life change. These people lose hundreds of pounds. Their lives are altered forever, and I think it's awesome! 
Another thing: I have an overwhelming fear of needles. Or maybe it's blood? I don't really know? All I do know is that the last time I got my finger pricked... I passed out on the floor and Stephanie had to come babysit me. Listening to someone TALK about having surgery tonight made me light leaded. 
Ok, back to the point.
Tonight, a theme that has presented itself to me over & over during the past couple weeks was presented on The Biggest Loser. They faced their fears. One of them sang in front of an audience, another one swam in the open ocean, etc. Facing fears is never a fun thing... It hurts. It's not necessarily something that we look forward to doing. I never look forward to going to the doctor. The thought of having a baby makes me instantly dizzy... and I am not even DATING anyone... It's not even a pertinent worry, but it makes me nauseous. 
I was talking to a research assistant at the lab that I work at just the other day, and he was talking about how fear and pain are feelings that are completely relevant. They come, and they go, and there is little we can do to stop them. They're like impulses. The thing that is important to remember about them is that they don't last forever. If fear or pain is prolonged... then we're making a choice to allow them to persist in our lives. Suffering or worry is just pain & fear that we choose to allow in our hearts.
I have been reading Romans over and over again through the past couple of weeks. 
This verse has stuck out to me, and I have it written on several index cards strategically placed... well, everywhere. (Maybe there is little strategy involved?) 
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ""Abba," Father." Romans 8:15. 
We should never be slaves to fear. God has released us from those chains.
So, as you can see, the idea of fear has been on my mind a lot lately. It has been all over the place, so, of course, I find it necessary to type it out.
Back to The Biggest Loser. I don't know how staged the show is? It is reality television, so all of the "emotional breakthroughs" could have no real emotional merit. I don't know? It's not up to me to know. I try not to be a skeptic. What I do know is that losing weight or becoming healthy or dropping a habit or getting out of an abusive relationship or giving your life to Christ... all of those things are life change. & life change happens when you face fear. 
Losing a couple pounds because you started a new weight loss program and then gaining it back when your body acclimates to a couple miles on a treadmill once or twice a week is not life change. 
The Biggest Loser people are changing the in's and out's of what they do on a daily basis. They are learning how to tackle real life problems. They are renewing their minds so that they can make a lifestyle change instead of just a temporary body change. It's scary. I mean, if you've ever watched the show, you see the fear in their eyes when Jillian tells them to run at a 7.0 for 5 minutes when they're like 400 pounds... That's fear! No doubt! 
We have to renew our minds... Change our thinking... Make choices that impact our lives for the better every day. 
Not everyone struggles with weight. These people on TV were afraid that obesity would claim their lives. You may not have that struggle. 
Your fear may be something else entirely. 
Maybe you fear that your health will fail you. 
Maybe you fear that someone's health that you love with fail them.
Maybe you fear being alone. 
Maybe you fear failure.
Maybe you fear losing your husband or your children or your parents. 
Maybe you fear change in general. 
I have no idea what it is that scares you. 
But I do know that you have a choice to either let that fear overpower you or let that fear go. 
I have no idea what the real point of this post is? 
It's hard to post a blog telling people to do something that I so clearly do not have control over myself. 
We're all works in progress. :)
& we're doing it together!