Do you remember spinning in circles as a child? The whole point was to get dizzy and stumble around trying not to fall down. I'm sitting here watching my two granddaughters doing that exact thing. They're twirling around and around with big smiles on faces and laughing as they stumble. To be a child… Somewhere along the line, this simple pleasure became a source of bondage for me. I have a fear of vertigo. In fact, I'm experiencing a season of it right now and it has me in a state of anxiety. It's become a stronghold. I have asked myself how this fear started. I have prayed many times for God to take it away but I know the best way to get rid of it is to get to the root. If you ask God what's going on, He will tell you. So today as I sat watching my grandchildren, He showed me that it was another area where I was afraid of losing control. The difference between my grandchildren and myself was that they welcomed the loss of control while I am paralyzed by it. I feel my chest tightening just talking about it so I know that hit the mark. So what do I do with this? I need to do what He's shown me to do…I need to face it and take the steps necessary to overcome it. I've already talked to my doctor and my son and daughter-in-law, who are also doctors. They all recommended a simple maneuver that should fix it. The only problem is the maneuver will bring on the vertigo while I do it and the thought of it terrifies me. I know I have to deal with it so today when I went to church, I went to the prayer room for prayer. God is so merciful when we struggle. I know I shouldn't be afraid to do this but He didn't judge me. Instead, He sent a woman to pray with me and it turned out she knew exactly what I was talking about because she too had to do the same exercise for vertigo. It was then I looked at her name rag. Her name was Hope. God used that woman to give me hope when I needed it most. Two days have passed and I'm still wrestling with this. I spoke to my counselor who told me she did the same maneuver on her husband and his vertigo stopped. I didn't need any other confirmation of what I needed to do. After our phone call, I positioned myself to do the maneuver. The first step is to lie back quickly until I'm flat on the bed. I went halfway a couple of times and then the fear would get me and I'd sit straight up again. At one point I got up and sat in a chair beating myself up with shame. I knew I had to face this fear but in order to do so, I had to walk through it. I prayed and asked God for courage. I stood up, sat down on the bed and did the maneuver. It made the vertigo pretty intense and I wanted to get up and run but God gave me the strength to finish the exercise. The last step was to rise to a sitting position. There was no vertigo and I haven't had any since. I had no idea whether that maneuver would work for me but I knew I had to try even if it didn’t. I'm reminded of the verse from Psalm 56:3: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” No matter if the fear is small or a stronghold, God is greater than your fear and He will strengthen you as you walk through it. Jesus, thank that You know our fears and You want us free from them. Please help us bring them to You and receive the strength and courage to take that first step and You walk us through to the other side.