Parenting seems to bring fear to the door of people who were previously fearless. The mom who would jump out of airplanes when she was single, suddenly watches her first infant breathe, fearing that looking away means those sweet breaths might stop.
Some parents become so immobilized by their own fears, they pass them on to their children – creating anxious children, afraid to do anything because “something bad might happen”.
So I was interested when offered the chance to review Breaking the Fear Cycle by Maria Furlough. Now, I must warn you, in some ways, this book takes courage just to read. The author wrote this book after giving birth to a child she had known several months in advance would die at birth. Her story is gripping and still raw – even though time has passed.
Because of having to face the ultimate fear of many parents – the loss of a child, she seems particularly able to address fear. Throughout the book, she weaves her personal story, scripture and what she believes she learned about fear in an easy to read, engaging style.
Since fear is so personal in many ways, it’s hard to say whether what she shares will help any particular person. The scriptures alone should help many people, as well as hearing the story of someone who has been walking in those fear-filled shoes.
She does include discussion questions at the end of each chapter, to encourage making her book a Bible study. The additional helps for group leaders in the back are written more for someone who has never led a small group Bible study. More experienced leaders won’t find much additional that’s helpful in the back portion.
I loved that the very end of the book is a page of scriptures to read and re-read when you are in those fearful moments. I remember years ago, being fearful and reading Psalms over and over to help me stay calm. I’m sure these Bible verses would have the same effect on many readers.
I can’t promise your fears will disappear after reading this book, but at least you will have more tools in your fear fighting toolbox to use.
This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.