My Greatest Fear (Part 1 of 2)

Monsters under the bed. Just the thought was terrifying enough for my hands to tremble. These dragons were real because I clearly saw them in my mind.
When Daddy heard me crying, he came to my rescue. I expected him to slay the dragons. Or at least he would turn on the light. Everybody knows that dragons hate the light and will immediately disappear.
The room remained dark.
Daddy wrapped his arm around me and assured me that no monsters were under my bed. Nothing was hiding behind the curtains. “Let’s go look,” he said. While holding my hand, he walked with me into the blackest darkness.
We looked under the bed and checked every dark shadow.
“Where are the monsters?” he said.
If he hadn’t been holding my hand, I might have said, “I know they’re there. I just can’t see them.” Imagination is a powerful force, able to see what isn’t there and not see what is there. Yet we are emotionally affected as if what we saw was true.
My father’s presence changed my perception of reality. From that point on, I never feared the darkness. I could leave the light off. And I never worried about what might be lurking in a place I couldn’t see. Why? Daddy was never far away.
When I came to know my heavenly Father much better, I had even less reason to fear anything. One biblical author said, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
What, then, should I fear? A spanking, perhaps.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. — Proverbs 1:7