Did you know bees and dogs can smell fear?

It's remarkable the scars that can be left behind. A firm house of four: aging 3 months, 24 years, 32 years, and 37 years. A simple storm -rain, lightning, thunder. The irony - the 3 month old sleeps soundly. You would think the loud cracks of thunder would startle the helpless babe, but no such reaction occurs even as she awakens to eaten, the weather making no difference in her day. The 24 year old - frightened and too prideful to really say anything. She know's there's no safer place to sleep. She slips away to be alone and tremble resting in the comfort that can be found in God alone - feeling ever so vulnerable not onlyat the height of the house, but also in the very room where two loved dogs took their last breathes just over a year ago. The 32 year old -awakens to her daughter crying out in hunger. She sits feeding her, hearing the thunder and watching the lightning. She scurries to take any precautions possible - unplugs the big tv's, computer, etc. Rallies up flashlights to be bedside. Wakes her husband. 37 year old- his anxiousness heightened, his sleep deprived. Lies awake until 330 waiting for the storm to end. The sound of thunder only implies lightning. The flashing bolts a dreadful reminder of the fascination that engulfed their house 14 months prior. A loss of everything they had ever known. A new house, a new baby, a new life begins to unfold. The scars - deeper than one could ever shared. Fear - it's what drives us. Fear - its what stops us. For this, I am fearful.