Courage is Contagious
Me - a guest blogger? What do I have to share that would be of interest or importance? For some reason I agreed, but with great trepidation. That’s my disclaimer.
As a working wife and mother of two amazing children, like most single and married parents I collapse at the end of the day. If all goes well I have just enough energy to handle personal emails and check in on my friends via Facebook. Quite often, though, as evenings draw to a close and I’m feeling weary, I’m reminding myself to not let the busy-ness of life keep me from praying and connecting with the true source of strength. My hope is that God smiles upon me with His merciful understanding when I fall asleep on Him.
Fortunately, over the years I’ve learned that prayer is more than just an activity or bedtime ritual – it’s a state of mind. A way of being. An awareness and openness to the many beautiful ways God speaks to us in the course of our everyday lives. It’s through these relished moments this past week that I was drawn to share my thoughts on courage. This prompting was confirmed during the Palm Sunday liturgy.
The Palm Sunday Gospel was filled with statements on courage. Of course the obvious and most important testimony to courage comes from Jesus himself as He faces his betrayer, captors and executioners with dignity, peace, and grace. But during Sunday’s Gospel reading I was profoundly struck by Peter’s personal struggle with courage.
I imagined him at Jesus’ side at the Passover table, confident in his love for Jesus and, empowered by the courage that comes from such love, proclaiming that he would never deny Him. And then it happened. Not once or twice, but three times. The cock crowed. Everything Peter thought about his faith, honor, loyalty and courageous spirit was dismantled in a few brief encounters with strangers.
With the grace and love of our Lord, however, Peter’s stumble didn’t destroy a relationship or prompt him to cower in a corner out of shame or guilt. Instead, he stands by Jesus’ side at the foot of the cross. Jesus sees his courage. Jesus sees his strength. Jesus calls him to be the rock of His church. Jesus transformed Peter’s fear and weakness into courage and strength.
As we enter into these holiest of days, I’m praying for personal courage. Real courage.
• The courage to be more open about my love for Him.
• The courage to acknowledge and respond to gentle promptings of the Spirit, even when they make no sense to my all-too-busy mind or don’t coincide with my short-sighted plans.
• The courage to follow Jesus’s example – praying with abandon and living with a confidence that can only come from trusting in the Father.
What will you be courageous about? Courage is contagious, so we can join each other in spirit and faith to do it together. Proclaim it in prayer. Proclaim to a trusted friend, or proclaim on this post. Just proclaim it and watch in wonder as He transforms our doubts into miracles.
Me - a guest blogger? What do I have to share that would be of interest or importance? For some reason I agreed, but with great trepidation. That’s my disclaimer.
As a working wife and mother of two amazing children, like most single and married parents I collapse at the end of the day. If all goes well I have just enough energy to handle personal emails and check in on my friends via Facebook. Quite often, though, as evenings draw to a close and I’m feeling weary, I’m reminding myself to not let the busy-ness of life keep me from praying and connecting with the true source of strength. My hope is that God smiles upon me with His merciful understanding when I fall asleep on Him.
Fortunately, over the years I’ve learned that prayer is more than just an activity or bedtime ritual – it’s a state of mind. A way of being. An awareness and openness to the many beautiful ways God speaks to us in the course of our everyday lives. It’s through these relished moments this past week that I was drawn to share my thoughts on courage. This prompting was confirmed during the Palm Sunday liturgy.
The Palm Sunday Gospel was filled with statements on courage. Of course the obvious and most important testimony to courage comes from Jesus himself as He faces his betrayer, captors and executioners with dignity, peace, and grace. But during Sunday’s Gospel reading I was profoundly struck by Peter’s personal struggle with courage.
I imagined him at Jesus’ side at the Passover table, confident in his love for Jesus and, empowered by the courage that comes from such love, proclaiming that he would never deny Him. And then it happened. Not once or twice, but three times. The cock crowed. Everything Peter thought about his faith, honor, loyalty and courageous spirit was dismantled in a few brief encounters with strangers.
With the grace and love of our Lord, however, Peter’s stumble didn’t destroy a relationship or prompt him to cower in a corner out of shame or guilt. Instead, he stands by Jesus’ side at the foot of the cross. Jesus sees his courage. Jesus sees his strength. Jesus calls him to be the rock of His church. Jesus transformed Peter’s fear and weakness into courage and strength.
As we enter into these holiest of days, I’m praying for personal courage. Real courage.
• The courage to be more open about my love for Him.
• The courage to acknowledge and respond to gentle promptings of the Spirit, even when they make no sense to my all-too-busy mind or don’t coincide with my short-sighted plans.
• The courage to follow Jesus’s example – praying with abandon and living with a confidence that can only come from trusting in the Father.
What will you be courageous about? Courage is contagious, so we can join each other in spirit and faith to do it together. Proclaim it in prayer. Proclaim to a trusted friend, or proclaim on this post. Just proclaim it and watch in wonder as He transforms our doubts into miracles.
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