Kate Motaung

Being made a new creature in Christ regenerates our human spirit. Part of our soul’s healing and deliverance emerges from surrendering parts of our past that threaten our present state (2 Corinthians 5:17). Despite the internal wrestling match, the Lord proves what He has placed in us. Amid complexity, we grow into spiritual maturity as our relationship with Christ blossoms from one life season to the next, despite the fear of being alone. While we treasure countless promises in Scripture, one enduring truth is that Jesus will be with us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5). Our Savior will never leave, abandon, or forsake. Sometimes, this can be challenging to process, especially if we struggle with the fear of being alone or by ourselves with no one else around. Fear of being alone differs from loneliness, which is experiencing sadness due to isolation and disconnection. It is more closely linked to anxiety and stress due to being by oneself. The origins of the fear are often traced back to childhood experiences of assault, neglect, or other traumatic incidents, even if no harm was intended. This may include parental divorce, an emergency that compromises personal safety, or the death of a beloved person. These marked experiences from childhood may imprint as abandonment, helplessness, or vulnerability. For a lifetime, a person can feel anxious or vulnerable that the same feelings of loneliness may occur again in a new or similar circumstance. It may help us to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal where this fear has deepened its root in our lives. Often, we try to populate the places where we fear being alone. We may attempt to quell the anxiety, by forming codependent relationships with others whose presence may be damaging. Instead, we need to explore the origin of this fear, or [...]

Why is it that whenever anything goes our way, we always seem to find a way to diminish our achievements or our good fortune? Our anxiety minimizes the success or put a damper on our triumphs to make them seem less impressive. In this article we'll take a look at how to prevent anxiety from ruining a pleasant experience. Compliments and good feedback might be difficult for some women to take in and believe when they receive them. They put a lot of effort into becoming parents, partners, friends, and coworkers, but they aren’t comfortable claiming their strengths because nervous portions of themselves make them feel “less than” or that they aren’t good enough. What exactly is going on here? In therapy, clients sometimes express themselves as follows: “I feel like an imposter.” You put in the effort, and you’re pleased with where your efforts are leading you to direct your energies. After that, there is a whisper that says, “If they only knew the truth, they’d see that I don’t know what I’m doing.” It causes you to question the veracity of all of your previous achievements. “I don’t want to put a damper on my own good luck.” You can argue with yourself that if you acknowledge the positive, you are inviting failure or unlucky circumstances into your life. You should try to have as few achievements as possible, either to better prepare yourself for the worst possible outcome or to prevent undesirable events from taking place. Your preoccupation with the possibility that undesirable events will occur in the future prevents you from appreciating what is now in the here and now. “I’m nobody extraordinary.” When someone compliments you, you may respond by saying, “It was easy. I didn’t put in any real effort at all. That [...]