The bravest you that you can be
It's funny. When I think about bravery I usually think about someone who really is brave -you know, the fireman who rushes in when others rush out, the soldier who leaves to fight an impossible war, leaving behind all that he knows and loves, the police officer who ironically must leave his own family (or hers) in order to protect his (or hers) own family, the paramedic, doctor or nurse who pushes through the unknown and often grotesque to save the person in front of them.
Those people are brave.
Those people are the ones that set fear aside and push through whatever it takes to do the job they have to do. Those people set their own comfort aside. Those people are incredibly special.
I am not brave.
Nuh uh. Not this girl.
My feats of bravery have been limited to ~
Those things don't 'feel' brave to me, even though I did have to have a big girl talk with myself before making the jump off that zip line platform. Nope, bravery itself is not my thing.
But I have learned that bravery is synonymous with courage and that maybe, just maybe, I am brave. Because courage is simply the ability to do something that frightens one.
I have been frightened to walk into a room filled with strangers but I've done it.
I have hated, dreaded and avoided making a phone call on more than one occasion, but I have eventually made the call.
The whole labor/delivery/birth process was quite daunting...and then they gave that sweet bundle of crying to me to take home. Yikes!
Living on faith? Needing a job? Praying for a husband? Or a family? Facing surgery or a long recovery? Dealing with a tough situation? All of these and more are examples of bravery. They are all something that can be frightening and they take a little courage to overcome.
And honestly, I think that just being yourself takes bravery.
The world would have us believe that we must be a certain size, look a certain way, pick the right clothes, use the right words, live in right neighborhood , drive the same kind of car as someone else, say the right things, not be controversial or opinionated, play well with others and all kinds of other measures of comparison to make us conform.
It takes courage and bravery to step outside of who someone else tells you to be and to just be yourself. I am reminded of 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Courage is the complete opposite of fear isn't it? So be brave! And be the bravest you that you can be!
Those people are brave.
Those people are the ones that set fear aside and push through whatever it takes to do the job they have to do. Those people set their own comfort aside. Those people are incredibly special.
I am not brave.
Nuh uh. Not this girl.
My feats of bravery have been limited to ~
- Para-sailing off the back of a boat in the straits of Mackinaw - ninety feet into the air with only a rope and a captain who hopefully knew what he was doing as my safety.
- Jumping off a zip line platform 40 feet in the air.
- Spending an evening above the world in a hot air balloon.
Those things don't 'feel' brave to me, even though I did have to have a big girl talk with myself before making the jump off that zip line platform. Nope, bravery itself is not my thing.
But I have learned that bravery is synonymous with courage and that maybe, just maybe, I am brave. Because courage is simply the ability to do something that frightens one.
I have been frightened to walk into a room filled with strangers but I've done it.
I have hated, dreaded and avoided making a phone call on more than one occasion, but I have eventually made the call.
The whole labor/delivery/birth process was quite daunting...and then they gave that sweet bundle of crying to me to take home. Yikes!
Living on faith? Needing a job? Praying for a husband? Or a family? Facing surgery or a long recovery? Dealing with a tough situation? All of these and more are examples of bravery. They are all something that can be frightening and they take a little courage to overcome.
And honestly, I think that just being yourself takes bravery.
The world would have us believe that we must be a certain size, look a certain way, pick the right clothes, use the right words, live in right neighborhood , drive the same kind of car as someone else, say the right things, not be controversial or opinionated, play well with others and all kinds of other measures of comparison to make us conform.
It takes courage and bravery to step outside of who someone else tells you to be and to just be yourself. I am reminded of 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Courage is the complete opposite of fear isn't it? So be brave! And be the bravest you that you can be!
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