cultivating virtue

courage

Prague, 1989. People standing up for what they believe in, awakened and ready to fight, ready to say, "No more!". Who among us has courage? Fear we all have, and that is good...fear separates the courageous from the foolhardy. The fools jump in with no respect for the gravity of the situation. The courageous are thus because they understand the risks, comprehend the potential outcome and still go forth into battle.

Self-preservation is an intuitive characteristic, whereas courage is not. Courage is not handed to us, it is not a talent. It is a skill that is practiced until it becomes a habit.

"Dispositions of character, virtues and vices are progressively fixed in us through practice."

William J. Bennett

As we sat aroung the table yesterday, discussing courage, my girls were called upon to recount a situation they have been in which required courage. Rebekah swiftly answered, "When you dropped me off at the first day of school here in CZ." I would add to that statement that every day since then, for three years, has been an act of courage on the part of both girls. Courage need not be represented only in life and death situations, but in everyday ones where fear is present and the outcome is unknown and could potentially suck.

When we pray for courage I believe that God presents us with opportunities to be courageous and exercise those muscles until thay are strong and master the coward within.