Bravery is something I feel like is a constant conversation within our family. “Bravery is doing something even when we are scared.” It’s a simple definition and yet, it holds so much truth to it.
I did something brave. It’s not much, but it is something. I’m terrified of heights. The church we attend has a rock wall and this past Friday, I climbed it. And not slowly. No. I climbed it with great speed (“points” were at stake), wearing my Keen sandals (not the best shoes for it, but it still worked). I climbed the entire thing, looking down only for footholds and then trusting the belay system would keep me from falling too fast (another spiritual lesson there!)
My kids had tried it earlier, while waiting for the family fun and games to begin. My daughter made it about three feet off the ground before realizing she was too high for comfort. My son made it twelve inches. I wasn’t about to ask my husband to do it. Honestly, I wanted to do it. I have fond memories of climbing rock walls in my past… I like a good challenge, and this is definitely one for me.
There are a couple of other things I noticed in this moment. My kids, who’d been fighting and arguing for what they wanted to do, cheered me on, telling me a variety of things from “don’t look down!” to “Go, Mom!” The day was filled with conflict leading to that point, but seeing them unified reminded me of something Paul emphasizes in his letters. We, the church, are all a part of His Kingdom, even in our diversity. When Revelation rolls around, we won’t all be singing in Greek, Hebrew, or even English, but each human there will sing in their own language, and glorifying God in that diversity. To me, this is why I am confident in standing beside and behind the voices of the disenfranchised because I know that when Jesus returns, they will have a voice and I will not understand it but He will, and it will be beautiful. I also noticed that as I took one more step up, further from the ground, terrified of what if the belay system failed (it didn’t), I was one step closer to my goal.
I have a similar mentality at times when we go on hikes. One more step. One more “high score” as my son calls it. One step further than I’ve gone before. In faith, we like to make it really complicated to be a Christian when all we need to do is take that one more step. It could be a scary step. It could be that we have no clue where that step will lead like trusting someone to guide us when we are blindfolded. It could be like Indiana Jones taking that step of faith in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But sometimes, that one step is giving a bigger tip to a server, or tipping a stranger through Instagram (did you see what Carlos Whittaker‘s Instafamilia did for a pianist at the Atlanta airport? Look it up! It’s a bunch of little things that added up in a big way!), or just smiling at someone. Faith is trusting God in who He says He is, what He says we are, and believing that what He has done for one can be done for another until all the world knows who He is and what He says is true. Faith unifies the church.
When we have faith, our fears lessen, often disappearing. His perfect love is the bravery we need to act in faith. Fear no longer has a hold on us.
The rock wall isn’t the only “brave” thing I’ve done recently. I could list a lot of things I’ve done that are brave! But one thing I’ve learned is that we cannot compare our brave to another, just like we cannot compare our faith. Our life isn’t a competition to see who’s got it better together or who’s worse off. Our life is ours to live in a way that glorifies Him, and sometimes that means getting out of bed in the morning. I’m learning that doing one thing brave a day is a reasonable goal (for me, it’s often choosing to not have coffee first thing in the morning…) and, as a mom, my kids seeing that one brave thing sets them up to do one brave thing. Some days are more than one brave thing, but one… one is the goal.
How are you choosing to be brave? How are you seeing your faith grow in that one thing? I would love to hear from you!
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