There are events in our lives that we may
never resolve as to facing them with courage and no longer being afraid to deal
with them. The very meaning of courage
is “the ability to do something that frightens one” or having the “strength in
the face of pain or grief.” At times we
have to deal with these things at a very young age. There are also some situations that we
personally may never have to face.
One situation that most of us have had to
face when younger is attending that first day of school. We may have read about school and the things
that take place there, or we may have talked to friends or even our siblings
about their first day of school, and now we think we have a proper
understanding of what is going to happen.
But WE have never been to school ourselves. We have never had to face the differences
that we have only heard about. Today
there are even perhaps greater fears about attending school with the COVID-19
presence there. These are very trying
and difficult times and you as young people need courage to face this situation
with confidence that those operating these places will have your best interests
at heart and keep you as safe as possible.
Of course, a very similar thing happens at
the other end of the education spectrum: graduation! You have developed for over a decade a
routine that you now feel comfortable in and the anticipation of having to
change this routine can be very frightening to some. It takes courage to face the REAL
world, as it is called! Having grown
into an adult situation you find that you will begin to make decisions for
yourself and you will have to face the rewards or the consequences for those
decisions.
I know when I graduated from high school
and left for Washington, DC, the “clothes fairy” didn’t make the move with
me. What I mean is, when I took my
clothes off to change, they stayed right where I left them. They did not magically collect themselves,
get washed, and then find their way back into my closet or dresser. I had to do all those things myself! The whole idea of being on your own and
living the “adult” life that you had been looking forward to can be very
frightful.
The
same is true for our lives in general.
When we begin reaching the “winter” of our life we may have to face
physical and emotional situations that we had never dreamed would become part
of our lives. We have to face those same
situations with our mate if we are married.
I heard it said recently, “You can’t be a wimp and get old!” That saying has more truth behind it than
most people would be willing to admit.
That is, until they begin to get old themselves! Then they understand the saying a lot better.
However, whatever we may have to face we
can have confidence if our faith is truly strong. Jesus himself said at John 16:33, “I have
said these things to you so that by means of me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but
take courage! I have conquered the world.”
At times our fears are real and at other
times they are only real within our own minds.
Often those fears are the most difficult to deal with because we’re
only human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
"He who is not afraid
is not courageous."
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