A bird at our neighbor’s house was not
scared when we walked near her. Wondering why she was not frightened, we then
realized she was sitting on her eggs. We could get right up next to her and it
would not fly away. Nothing was going to frighten her away from protecting her
eggs. She stood up to fear because she was driven by a purpose more important
than her own security. The bird was fulfilling her purpose with passion.
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Photo Credit –
whitegadget.com
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I love seeing photos of mountain
scenes. What a great inspiration they can be. These great rocks have stood firm
over time. They can shield from bad weather or protect from enemies during
wartime. Nature is a great teacher like the examples above and we can also
learn lessons of courage from history, from TV/movies, and in life experiences.
Even though TV shows may not be
reality, there are still lessons of courage depicted. When my daughter was
younger, we got in the habit of sitting down to watch episodes of Little
House on the Prairie. One of the characters in the show named Mary received
a teaching job in another county. A resident in this county didn’t want the
school to succeed but Mary had the courage to stand up to her and get everyone
thinking her way. Sometimes you have to ruffle some feathers and not be as
friendly in order to get people moving in the right direction; it’s called
leadership.
To make an omelet you, have to crack
some eggs. There is a need for leaders to have courage to stand up and point
out a problem so they can nip it in the bud before it grows out of control.
Think of the terrible shootings in the
late 1990’s in Littleton Colorado Columbine High School and the recent shootings
in the Aurora Theater or at Sandy Hook. The killers involved in these incidents
showed many warning signs that were not followed through with. Was it because of
a lack of time or attention by those around the shooters? Or was it a lack of
courage to stand up and nip it in the bud before it got out of control? The
killers in these tragedies all had planned in advance, and had problems with
their behavior leading up to the events.
Do we simply need more courage to do
what’s right? There are many stories that do demonstrate courage. I heard a story
one time that a man fell 18 feet off a ladder onto an iron fence post. It
jabbed through the man's side and out the other. A neighbor had the courage to take action
immediately. He cut the post stuck in him and hurried the man to the emergency
room. The post was surgically removed from the man’s body; only missing his
heart by an inch, bruising several internal organs, and severing some main
arteries. The amazing thing about the story is that the man was recovering at
home within a week.
Stories like the one above demonstrate
to us that everything is in God's hands and we should have courage because God
is in control. He has given us control over our thoughts and the thoughts of
fear can be mastered. The starting point is desire. We all can control our own
destiny by reaching a decision to have courage. When we go about our day and see
or hear negative words or actions from others, we can be courageous for God is
with us.
For
building faith in God’s power, limitless, and promises there is an on-line devotional
I’m using to keep me on track. I invite you to join the journey or check in
from time to time for some inspiration by liking or following at the links
below:
