Daring Fear: A Dad’s Tale of His Little Girl’s Bravery

“I want to learn to skate,” my little girl told me.  She held in her hands a new-to-her pair of roller skates. The possibility of independence and adventure sparkled in her eyes.

“Sure,” I said, “Let’s put them on and see how they fit.”

The skates were roller rink quality lace-ups with white leather and turquoise wheels. They were beautiful. She slipped her narrow feet into the opening and entered more grown-up territory.

We tied the knots, and I extended my hands to pull her to her feet. She stood two inches taller than a moment ago- a bit wobbly—my big girl.

She took her first wheeled step, and that’s when the fear took hold.

Facing the Fear of the Unknown

“Maybe we could watch some videos on how to roller-skate,” she asked, clutching my sleeve.

I tried my usual sink-or-swim parenting style to cajole her past fear before it clutched her heart.  It was already too late. She would not budge.

My daughter and I had done this fear-and-convince dance many times up to that point. Both of us want to dig in our heels. It rarely goes well.

My wife suggested that the video idea might work well.  At least it had for the older sister.

So, I guided my daughter back into the house, and my wife fired up some YouTube tutorials. The fear decreased, but not the hunger for freedom. She tried to imitate her video tutors on the carpet, and everything was fine again.

Armed with her new confidence, she crawled out to the front lawn and “skated” in the grass.

She did this for weeks.

My daughter’s fear of the unknown was once again winning her heart.  After lots of prayer and discussion, there didn’t seem to be an attractive way to help her take a step toward bravery.

I started to worry: What if my daughter never learns how to overcome her fear? How good will I be as a dad if my kids can’t face problems with faith? My own fears drove me to often ask God for help with my little girl’s heart.

The Inspiring Tale of Brave Irene

Then, the Lord led my wife to Brave Irene by William Steig.  Irene is a girl, let’s say my daughter’s age, whose mother is a highly sought-after dressmaker.  When the mother gets a fever and cannot transport a much-needed dress, Irene volunteers.  On the way, she meets a terrible blizzard, fights with an angry wind, loses the dress, and gets stuck in a drift.  She thinks about giving up but remembers she wants to see her mother again and claws her way out of the drift.  In the end, Irene delivers the dress and, as a bonus, brings back medical help to her mother.

Somehow, my daughter identified with what Irene went through. She and my wife had a few heart-to-hearts about how, with the Lord’s help, she could be brave like Irene, fight her fear, and enjoy skating. For a time, my wife took to calling her Irene when fear started to extend its fingers.

Building Mental Memorials of God’s Goodness

So, step by step and inch by inch, my little Irene started to put her weight on the wheels. Then, her wheels moved from the lawn to the cement.  And like Irene bravely fought her fear, my Savannah learned to skate.

This wasn’t the last time my daughter has fought through fear, but her bravery has increased.

I heard it’s good to build mental memorials of God’s goodness and tell the stories often. This is one of my favorites. I saw God’s love in teaching my daughter how to face her fears. His work in her life has also encouraged her father.