Courage

It's Sunday evening and we're resting in the quiet after a busy week and before a busy ending to the month of July. Living back in the suburbs has added MANY more hours of driving and I'm not a fan. All of our friends, doctors, and familiar haunts are 30-40 minutes away, so we're hoping as time goes on that we'll do life closer to home more often and spend less time on the road. But for now, that's the way it is.

There's been a lot going on recently that has prompted me to think about the word "courage" and what exactly that means to me. A logical place to look for a definition is in the dictionary, so I thought I'd do that just to see what it had to say.

"Courage - the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery"

Those of us more mature adults might have this picture pop into our heads (complete with a remembered snarl and growl) when we hear the word courage:

A little more modern picture might look more like this:

But I have to say I don't agree with the thought that courage involves facing difficulties without fear. Instead, I think this quote is more accurate:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

I have a friend whose judgement that physical health and emotional peace were more important to her than fear. This determination has given her the strength to choose loss which ultimately is leading to life.

I've recently watched a young man only weeks away from his wedding determine that spiritual and emotional health were more important than fear.  At a high cost to himself and others, he's choosing to seek God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength as he navigates an unknown future.

For over three years I've watched two beautiful young ladies choose to believe that what God says about them is greater than their fear.  They've invested time and resources in learning to dream again because to stop dreaming means they've stopped living.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading a book and came across this sentence that resonated within me and I've decided that it's my new philosophy on courage:

"It takes courage to live everyday lives."

Here's to the sacredness of the everyday.