For the first time since we’ve had our rough collie dog, Angel Joy, I dreaded taking her on a walk yesterday. Rain spanned the horizon from sky to ground. Some of the rain was suspiciously white, hard and cold, resembling ice or snow even though this is May. A cold wind blew through, not around me. Husband Alan McKean, who has just released his second book, “The Scent of Home,” has a name for these biting Scottish winds. Lazy. They are so lazy that they pass through you instead of troubling themselves to go around.

But Angel Joy needed a walk, so I finally took her. Wearing all the rain gear, it really wasn’t that bad outlside. Yet I had made the poor furry family member wait more than two hours past the usual time of her walk because of dread. Dread is often like that – worse than the reality.

Most folks dread visits to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. Yet, once the gums are clean and the teeth are brightly white again, the mouth zings with health and happiness.

Bad things do happen. Bad things do happen to good people. But usually, our sense of dread tends to be exaggerated. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25, 31 and 34, “Do not worry.” Jesus is God and God is in control. Even when the things we dread do happen, the end result is good. Romans 8:28, “ALL things work together for good to them that love the LORD.”

Dread is like being led to a long, high, solid rock wall with our eyes closed, then being told to open our eyes. From our vantage point, all we can see is a solid wall with no entry point. But from His vantage point, God sees the entire wall – every possible way in, under, over and through it.

I dreaded leaving my home in Texas. I dreaded crossing the ocean in a flying barn pretending to be a plane and coming to live in a cold climate like Scotland. If I had given into that dread instead of trusting Jesus and letting Him be in control, I would not be married to Alan; I would not have Angel Joy; I would never have seen the lovely, breathtaking scenery and places I’ve seen here; I would never have met the warm, wonderful, friendly Highland folks; I would never have attended our Monday Night Bible Study and had my right leg healed instantly; I would never have my two newest books out, Bridge to Nowhere and Love’s Beating Heart. Nor would I have continued on the Miz Mike “Bridge” series. Books Number Four and Six are set here in Scotland. Kick dread out of your life. That paves the way for God’s blessings.