I recall when I taught any classroom of students, even my Sunday School class, that I would have a word of the day on the board. I love words. I love to play Scrabble, or Boggle or any other word game I can find. The problem is that no one really wants to play those games with me, and it's not because I always win, I don't. I just like words! Today a friend gave me a gift that has caused me to think about the word Courage. It was a Willow Tree angel, beautifully designed with arms outstretched as if to say Hallelujah! The gift carries much sentiment between this dear one and me, for she is the kind of friend where no words need to be said. The gift is an angel of courage, created by the designer to celebrate the triumphant spirit, strength and courage we call upon to face challenges in our lives, whether they be our health, or the well-being of our loved ones. It is a re-sculpture of an original piece and serves as a reminder of people in our lives who inspire us with their strength and courage everyday.
My precious, eloquent friend let me know how I display courage to her and to others. What praise to think that little old me could inspire anyone else, when I feel that I gain my strength from her and others. Yes, I know it takes courage to do what I do, what we all do, to face our day, to carry the burdens of the heart, to persevere and carry on, to live this day. By admittance, it's not always easy, especially now that I walk a road I never would have dreamed possible. As I think of courage, I know I draw my triumphant spirit from a loving God, who uses others to help me know I don't walk alone. I think of my friend, Barb, whose son called her last summer and told her he would put his motorcycle on an internet listing for sale later that day, and a short hour later, died on the side of the road in an accident, taking his last ride. Barb's courage to get up and take care of her grandchildren, feed them, get them to school, and attend their activities inspires me as does a former colleague, who lost her child many years ago in a fire, yet she finds a way to get up, work as a school custodian, cleaning and moving furniture and impacting the learning that goes on in that school. She often does not know how she will pay her rent with the high costs of fuel and housing, yet, there she is, making a difference. I draw my own courage from a newfound friend who has remained clean and sober for over one year, choosing a healthy life over the one she was drowning in, and from a former colleague who came home one day to an empty house, her husband having taken everything but the kitchen sink and the two children! My own mother comes to mind as I think of her, 14 years ago this month, lying in a coma for 6 weeks as she desperately tried to keep living for us. She underwent operation after operation, procedure after procedure, more than one body should really endure, until we whispered in her ear to let go and asked God to show grace and mercy as His will was done. Naturally, I recall the dignity in which my own father allowed us to feed him, medicate him, care for him in his final stages of cancer, right in our own home, showing the courage to keep his dignity and respect until his final breath. And, I recall the countless courageous parents who taught me so much about life, parents I came to know and respect through their own journeys, losing a child, fighting to keep a child, waking up to abuse, working two or three jobs, taking a bus, to another, to another and finally reaching their jobs hours after they left home.
Examples of courage could keep flowing, we all have them, we all know them, sometimes they are right in our own homes, sometimes they are told to us, but they all come at the time we need, to inpsire and motivate, to help us get up in the morning, to help us keep a perspective, to help us know we are going to be okay. If I were in the classroom today, courage would be my word of the day!
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