"Remember, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
We've had this verse on a chalkboard wall in our kitchen for the past few days. I've been thinking about this one a lot lately. These words seem simple at the surface. "Be strong and courageous." It seems to say "Just do these things. Come on, just be strong and courageous." Easier said than done though, right? There are so many times in life that I'd like to be able to simply say these words to myself and all of a sudden massive amounts of courage would well up inside of me. The problem with that scenario is this...How would that draw us closer to Christ? This week my oldest's head had an unfortunate run in with the ground. Yikes!! Long story short, we ended up in the ER for the afternoon and returned home with staples in the back of his head. My oldest is a gem, folks. He's friendly to all that he meets and he's got a tender heart that I just adore! Bravery isn't his strength, though and he knows it. The funny thing is, he had asked me several weeks ago to pray that he could be brave. He felt as if he was just "scared" of too many things in life. (His words...see, he's a gem) Well, he and I have been praying about that. Then came his run in with the ground this week and it got me thinking more about Joshua 1:9. With tears running down his cheeks, he begged me not to take him to the ER when he got hurt. Not because he wasn't in pain. No, he was definitely in pain. My sweet boy was scared to death! He was fearful of the unknown. My heart broke as I stood cleaning his bleeding head, listening to his panicked soul. Isn't that how we are in life too, though? We desperately want to be brave and courageous. But when it comes right down to it, we're not sure how to do that exactly. We're scared of the unknown. One of my all-time favorite movie quotes goes something like this..."When we ask God for patience, is He just going to all of a sudden make us a patient person or will He give us opportunities to be patient?" It's the same with bravery and courage. We can pray for it, but don't you think God will give us each opportunities to be brave and courageous rather than just granting our request like some magical genie? I would never wish any ER visit on either of my kiddos, but for my sweet son, it was an opportunity for him to be brave. He took those staples like a champ, ya'll. And when he got home and we were talking about this whole idea of getting opportunities to be brave, my boy's chest stuck out just a little bit. He knew that God had given him an opportunity to show courage. And he had.
4 Comments
Amanda
5/5/2017 03:27:57 pm
So awesome! I am just like your boy! So glad things weren't worse! What a great analogy too! Love you, friend!
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Heather
5/8/2017 02:41:43 pm
Thanks so much, friend!
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Liz Wells
5/5/2017 07:12:43 pm
Oh Heather! So glad he is ok. He does have such a sweet tender spirit. What a great article and reminder. Well-written and well-lived.
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Heather
5/8/2017 02:43:28 pm
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, Liz. It was definitely an "eventful" week, but I'm so glad that God reminds us of his great love for us in the midst of crazy life moments.
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AuthorThanks so much for visiting. I'm Heather. I'm a wife, mother and educator who loves trying to make beauty of the life around me. Archives
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