“What is Courage?”

Courage is the ability to act regardless of the feelings or potential consequences. Courage is following your intuition when the facts are against it. Courage is saying ‘I am sorry’ when you are at fault, ‘I don’t know’ when you don’t and ‘I love you’ despite the hurt, anger or fear. Each day we speak the truth with integrity, own our responsibilities and reach out to another … we are building courage muscle. Have you lifted any weights of courage lately?”

 © John Mark Ministries. http://jmm.aaa.net.au.

Sometimes courage requires even more effort than what is described above. During these current Olympics we are seeing athletes who are showing incredible courage to overcome enormous injury problems in order to achieve their dreams of glory.

But the greatest courage, I believe, is that shown by folk who face incredible pain, or suffering, abuse, violence or are the victims of unjustifiable crimes. These people, who not only face these HUGE obstacles, but do so with integrity, hope, and undying determination to survive – even when humanly they may indeed NOT survive – that, to me is the finest courage a person is ever called to display. Jesus displayed that kind of courage when he was crucified. He is the best model of courage I know.

I love this quote from the author Dorothy Thompson. She says, “Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding: and that there is always tomorrow.” (http://www.forbetterlife.org).

When we are sure that Someone good and pure is holding our hands and leading our lives, we do have a certain hope that eventually, no matter what, whether in this life or after it, we will find happiness, meaning and understanding Love.

My sister would have celebrated her 60th Birthday this week, but she died nine years ago after an agonising, long, debilitating illness. It was in many ways just horrendous to travel those past years with her – especially the final six months. Yet, it was also one of the most incredible, hope-filled, wonderful experiences I have known. She was in shocking, unremitting pain, and she knew the diagnosis was that she was highly likely to die, yet she continually believed that she was loved by God. And if loved by God, then that was all she needed to know. She was loved by the supreme Lover of all who call to him. And if loved like that, then she knew everything, in the end, would be well, because she would be with Jesus, who loved her unconditionally. She would be loved whether here on earth in pain, or if she was healed completely on earth, or if she died. NOTHING would separate her from the loving protection of God.

My dear sister Lesley loved the writings of St. Julian of Norwich. Julian believed that no matter what, we are loved by God. And if loved like that, then all will be well. She believed in the unconditional love of God. One of Julian’s famous sayings was:

“But all shall be well,

and all shall be well,

and all manner of thing shall be well”.

Now THAT’s COURAGE!!! When my dear sister Lesley died, I placed a death notice in the paper. At the bottom I simply had these words printed – “All shall be Well”.

Most folk probably thought it an odd thing to write – but between Lesley and me, it said it all.

(C). 2004. Christine M. Jones. Droplets from Life – http://www.dropletsfromlife.blogspot.com.

— Posted by Christine to Droplets from Life at 8/21/2004 12:47:53 PM