Editorial: HOW TO RESIST FEAR
Sometimes I lie awake at night staring at the ceiling, and wondering what a single citizen is supposed to do.
But my ceiling has no answers for me—only more fear. Sometimes I feel that fear is the point. If they can make us afraid, it makes us easier to control.
Recently I was at a friend’s house and we were talking about our fears. And we asked ourselves, what is the antidote?
After some discussion we decided: the antidote to fear is connection. If they want us to be afraid so they can control us, the response is to form connections with one another. Build community.
The biggest act of resistance to a power that wants me to cower is to eat haystacks at my friend’s table. I play video games with one friend. I watch a TV show with another. I have a friend who takes me grocery shopping with her. I play board games with my kids. I go to the coast with my husband and sit by the sea. I play with my baby niece, and talk on the phone with my mom and dad.
They want us to feel alone. Divided. They want us to separate ourselves by race, gender, religion, politics, age, and a million other things. But we can refuse to be separated. We can insist on finding the connection and the joy that comes from community.
And that’s one of the things I love about Adventist Today. I have written articles and done editing work with Adventist Today for eight years. And I’m always amazed at the power of the community we have cultivated. Our community is passionate, thoughtful, intelligent, and connected.
But because we live in a world that demands we pay the bills, that community does not come for free. Which is why I have been donating monthly to Adventist Today for years. We are in the middle of our Spring fundraiser right now and we are asking you to help us continue to cultivate that community with your donation.
I for one will continue to make time for my connections. I will continue to donate to this ministry. And I will continue to resist.
Will you join me?
Lindsey Abston Painter
Writer & Editor, Adventist Today Magazine & Website
19 April 2025
ANNOUNCEMENTS & LINKS
Today’s ATSS class (1:30 PM Eastern US) with Laura Wibberding
One-click link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84123122914
Passcode: PROPHECY {ALL CAPS}
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