For the first Deep Thought Thursday entry, I wanted to bring you a little bit of writing from Rainer Maria Rilke, an early 20th century poet and writer. In one of his letters to a younger writer experiencing great fear and sadness, he offers this advice:

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting
to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything
that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that
wants our love.  [text of full letter]

Our world is filled with dragons of all sorts. Those dragons would keep us afraid, locked safely inside, and well-armed with weapons against the dangerous world.

But what if they weren’t dragons at all? What if we were only tricked into thinking they were dragons and they were really princesses crying out for love? Would we hear them over the deafening screams of our inner fears?

What if, as Rilke suggests, the things which frighten us are the ones most in need of our love?

What frightens you in this world? Is it possible that Satan has planted this fear inside of you because God has created you to bring Christ’s love there–into that place you fear?