Fat teardrops were gathering on her lashes, threatening to run down her cheeks while her red-rimmed eyes betrayed her emotion. This wasn’t at all normal for her. She was my pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, git ‘r done girl. She was the one who painted the foundation of our house at six years old with a toothy grin, exclaiming, “Thanks for planning this fun activity, mom!”

But this moment was just too much for her.

It was our first swim meet of our first year of swim team and she was signed up to be the first leg of the first race. This wouldn’t have been so overwhelming except that we had no idea what we were supposed to do that morning. And she only been to a handful practices. And she hadn’t been able to practice starts. And we were in a humid, 90-degree room where the air was heavy with chlorine and the noise of 200 crammed-in people.

I texted my husband, “This.Is.Crazy.”

I put my arms around her narrow shoulders and held her close while we prayed for courage and strength for her race. She let out a deep breath.

She wiped her eyes, straightened her goggles, adjusted her swim cap, put her shoulders back, and stood as tall as her 8-year-old frame could while we found our way to the bullpen. She was ready.

A few minutes later she was gliding down the lane, her arms moving like clockwork, and my heart couldn’t help but swell in my chest. She came dripping out of the water after the race with a huge smile on her face.

I hugged her, “you did it! I’m so proud!”

Her grin went from ear to ear, “that was fun!”

She had lost the race but had won a much bigger victory. That morning one small swimmer had shown big courage.

So often in our lives we are called to do something uncomfortable, something overwhelming, something for which we feel painfully underqualified. Does having courage mean that we are never afraid? Does it mean we never shed a tear?

My daughter taught me that morning that the bravest kind of courage isn’t one that has no fear. The bravest kind of courage confides in the Lord, asks for his help, and then presses forward, knowing God is with her. The bravest kind of courage confides in the Lord, asks for his help, and then presses forward, knowing God is with her. Click To Tweet

 

So often I believe the lie that courage means we have everything figured out—that we are completely ready for every obstacle. But Paul teaches in Philippians 3 that we should have no confidence in ourselves—in fact he calls it garbage. He goes on to say,

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 3:12-14

What is God calling you to right now? Perhaps you are feeling inadequate and underqualified. Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed. Your feelings are normal. Take your normal feelings to the Lord and ask him to give you an abnormal courage to press on and strain toward what’s ahead.

Take your normal feelings to the Lord and ask him to give you an abnormal courage to press on and strain toward what’s ahead.

And then let out a deep breath, put your shoulders back, stand tall and move forward, diving into your calling.

Who knows? You may emerge dripping on the other side with a smile, and say, “that was fun!” 😉

This summer I have meditated much on Godly courage. Part of my journey to a better understanding of courage included reading LaTan Murphy’s new book Courageous Women of the Bible. Read my review of her book here.

Tags: doubt, fear, Jesus, purposeful living, Self-discipline, surrender, worry