Choosing to Make Life Work - 8L - COURAGE

                  Beginning this last Spring, while I was recuperating at home from my head episode, I started to listen to audio books.  I listened to a couple of classics, even a couple of children classics, which was fun.  I also listened to the life story of Deitrich Bonhoeffer  and am listening to his books again—Life Together and now Cost of Discipleship.

            I am so taken with the courage, perseverance and faith of Bonhoeffer.  When the German churches and countries around the world were not getting involved while Hitler was gaining more and more power, Bonhoeffer, joining others, was plotting to kill him.  They believed something needed to be done to stop this evil man, and they were acting on it. 

Here in America we live such protected lives compared to other countries.  Although we are having our own terror attacks here as well now.  I hear and see on TV so many people that are being killed and Christians being persecuted in the Middle East and Africa.   I am overwhelmed with what must be the most frightening experiences.   How does one muster up the courage needed to live or die in these kinds of situations.

            I wonder sometimes if I would be courageous in similar circumstances.   As a young mother, I was in a Bible Study group years ago when I was active in the Turkish speaking Armenian Church in Los Angeles.  We were discussing what our parents went through during the genocide and how scarry it must have been to get on a boat to a distant place to start a new life.   I remember my friend, who had a young son and had to wear leg braces.  She shared with us,  “Do not worry today what you could or could not do in difficult situations.  She reminded us to trust God.  God will give you the kind of courage needed for each situation.”

All of us experience different kinds of hard things in our life time.   I am reminded of the scripture, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”    That’s where our courage comes from.