I found this free floating note card in a box of papers and things. Anita has written on it in black Sharpie:
Fear not the future;
God is already there.
This one was something of a mystery to me – not what it meant but what it meant to Anita and in what context.
A Google search on the quote turned up nothing. There was a book called “Fear Not Tomorrow, God is already There” by Ruth Graham. But it was published in September 2009, a month after Anita died.
Then I found a great sermon by Dr. James Flamming entitiled “Taking the Fear Out of the Future“. In the sermon, he talks about Billy Graham and that reminded me of a Billy Graham book that Anita had. So I typed the quote into Google along with “Billy Graham” and found out that Ruth was Billy’s daughter.
Now, on a mission, I search for Anita’s Billy Graham book. I find it: “The Journey: How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain World”. Scan the table of contents and find chapter 18: Emotions that defeat us. Skim the chapter…hmmm, maybe I was wrong. Wait! At the very end of the chapter Graham mentions that his wife has written over her desk these words: “Fear not the future; God is already there.” Bingo!
I was thinking this note was from 2006. The book was published when? March 2006.
That was a time when Anita was still working at the big law firm but really exploring her life’s purpose. She was writing and being creative and examining herself closely. But where would she go from this job? Fear held her in place but faith allowed her to fulfill God’s purpose for her eventually.
One of her daily reminders not to be afraid. Have faith. God is with you today and tomorrow.
