We all have monsters, inner and outer ones. What one person might consider a monster might not bother me at all. Someone else might not bat an eye over leading a workshop. As we travel our own unique spiritual journeys, God calls us to recognize our own monsters and learn to face them with courage.
The surprise gift was my fear was taken away. I suspect it was by the grace of God because it was not a gradual process. It happened dramatically, quickly, and cleanly. A handicap that had troubled me all my life has been healed.
Not only this particular fear was affected. My fear in general seems to have been put into a new perspective. It is as if I still have fear and anxiety, but they are transcended by a sense that I, and the whole situation, are being held in God’s hand and that somehow it will be all right.