How to Live a Brave Life

The mother of two of my closest friends in high school passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. As I have thought about her these past few days, I remember three things in particular: her smile, her laugh, and her strength. She was a tough cookie! 

They were a Navy family, and one of the ways she showed strength was by holding tightly to her children and marriage as they moved from country to country to country. Now that my own family has moved from country to country to country--and back again--I know what that feels like. It ain't easy.

Her daughter, my friend, is a tough cookie, too. This past year, she faced a living nightmare as her youngest girl contracted a life-threatening infection. She was med-evac'ed to a hospital and spent 140 days there--nearly five months.

My friend stayed with her daughter day after day, praying for her, encouraging her and holding out hope as her child went through a coma; a tracheostomy; several close calls; and relearning to stand, speak and walk.

Being a mom sometimes is a call to bravery isn't it? Pregnancy and childbirth require bravery. If you adopt a child, like another friend of mine is doing right now, that requires guts, too. 

Good moms, though, do tough things for their children. They clean skinned knees. They hold cool cloths on contagious, feverish foreheads. They climb into trees to retrieve kids who didn't realize how high up they were until they looked down. They sit in the passenger seat--without a chicken brake--while their teenagers learn how to drive.

Since the passing of my friends' mom, I have been reading some stories about other brave mothers. Check these out:

A 21-year old woman in Florida was filling her gas tank when two men tried to steal her car. One of the men, armed and masked, jumped into the driver's seat. But, you see, the woman's babies were in the backseat. So, she raced around the car to the driver's door, dragged the armed carjacker out and pushed him away. Her actions were so bold and well, frightening, that both men fled.

In Nigeria, a woman named Faith was at the mall when it was attacked by terrorists. She got her children--a nine-year-old and a 1 1/2-year-old--to lay on the ground in a place where they were mostly hidden. Then she helped keep them quiet, with their eyes turned away from the chaos. Faith even prayed that God would temporarily make her kids unconscious. As shooting went on around them for five hours, they stayed calm and her toddler actually fell asleep next to his mama! 

Another mother climbed down into a well to rescue her son. Another mother lifted a car off her child after it had fallen off its jacks. Another mother jumped inbetween a gunman and her daughter, taking five bullets in the back.

Oh, and this one was interesting: A woman in Canada was walking with her three-year-old in the woods near their house. Suddenly, an 88-pound cougar pounced on the little girl. Maureen wedged her way between the animal and her child and hurled the cat off. Then she picked up her daughter (who was fine) and ran to safety.

Good moms can be brave as a mama bear, can't they?

Thinking about these contemporary moms led me to thinking of Jochebed in the Bible. She was the mother of Moses. Exodus 1 says that around the time Moses was born, the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew boy killed. Imagine the horror of having the leader of your country order the death of your child! But Jochebed secretly refused to hand her son over. 

At the risk of her life, she hid baby Moses for three months. Then, when she couldn't continue to conceal him, Exodus 2 says, she got a new papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch.

She placed the child in this waterproofed basket and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Her daughter stood guard at the river, a distance away, until Pharaoh's own daughter found and saved the baby.  Can you imagine the pounding of their hearts as Jochabed and Miriam hid and watched over the boy? Or as they came to realize the princess herself would be deciding whether or not to give the child to her dad? Jochebed and Miriam were brave! 

There's another side to all this mom bravery, too. My husband was talking to me the other day about my own mother and how he's never seen her seek recognition for the things she does. She helps so many other people behind the scenes, and she does it quietly, in humility.

Think about all the other ladies I mentioned. Unless Jochebed had some divine revelation that I don't know about, she didn't realize Moses would grow up to lead Israel out of slavery. She didn't know he would witness grand miracles like the parting of the Red Sea or the manna from heaven delivered in the wilderness. She probably didn't know he would write the first five books of the Bible and her name would be in it. I doubt she could see that far ahead. She did what she did, quietly and bravely, to save her baby son.

Those other women didn't jump in front of bullets, a cougar and carjackers to get their names in the newspaper. My friend isn't adopting a child to get her name on TV. My other friend didn't spend 140 days in the hospital with her daughter so that she could get a mention in this blog. They bravely--and humbly--have been protecting, loving and caring for these children.

Moms are pretty awesome at this.

But you know what? You don't have to be a mom fighting for her child to be brave. The Bible says that if we are followers of Christ, if we give Him control of our lives, He puts His Holy Spirit in us. And it doesn't matter if you are old or young, single or married, a parent or childless, male or female. He can make us brave and fearless. For His spirit is not a spirit of fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Instead, His spirit is a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind (c.f. 2 Tim. 1:7, I John 4:18).

The Bible says:

“But now, this is what the Lord says…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1, NIV)  

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, NIV)  

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9, ESV) 

 This world gets messy sometimes. Like in the stories I shared, there are cougars and terrorists and carjackers and gunmen. The reality is that it's going to get messier until Jesus comes back. It may all seem like too much sometimes. But we don't have to walk in fear because God Himself walks with us and gives us strength. Our job is to choose to trust Him. The book of Psalms says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; . . . .” (Psalm 23:4, ESV)

We can have confidence that our God is in control and loves us. If we are walking with Him, then His mighty power--the power that raised people from the dead, stood up to the Pharisees, endured the cross, shook the earth, calmed the storm, cast out demons and healed the sick--is inside us, too. If we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, we have that kind of power. We can face trials and challenges with confidence, peace, and even joy.

You know, author and speaker Beth Moore has said if a message "hits" her audience, it's because God beat her over the head with it first. So, it seems appropriate that, as I was writing some of these thoughts out in preparation for a Mother's Day speech at our church, God gave me a little chance to do something brave.

The day before Mother's Day, a friend of mine asked me to go with her on a day trip to the Trees of Mystery in Klamath. After we arrived, she told me she wanted to pay my way to ride the Sky Trail.

Have you been on this thing? You hike up a lovely trail, a path winding through a beautiful forest, between giant Redwood trees that are 200-300 feet tall. Then, you get in a gondola attached to a cable, the doors close behind you and you ride ABOVE the tops of Redwood trees until you can no longer see the ground beneath you.

A few years ago, this would have terrified me. But I have grown in my walk with God to the place where I choose to trust Him and refuse to live my life in fear. So, I stepped into that little bubble and began the ascent.

The truth is that my heart did beat a little faster as the ground fell away beneath me and yes, I got a little nervous as we climbed higher and higher with no end in sight. I was in the gondola, body fully committed to the ride, but sitting very, very still. My soul was having a little more trouble getting on board. 

Then my friend encouraged me to look back over my shoulder and down the mighty hillside we were climbing. At first, I wouldn't. I told her I would be quite happy to just look at the photos she was taking, after the ride was over. But she finally convinced me to look back.

I was stunned, looking at trees and berry bushes in countless shades of green and being in the midst of that fresh sky. Our Creator God has painted such an amazing work of art in that small stretch of land. From the top of the ride, we could see all the way to the mighty Pacific ocean. 

And my heart chose freedom in the adventure. 

Our pastor had been preaching the two weeks prior about God's nature and character. So, as peace washed over me, as I marveled at what I was experiencing, I thought about how enormous and awesome God is. I thought about how He was right there with us, omnipresent, as we enjoyed his amazing creation. Those traces of fear vanished, as we experienced such memory-making moments of awe and joy.

This week, this is what I want for you: To stop worrying, to stop fearing, to stop fretting in the circumstances of life, and to walk instead in peace. Hold God's hand tightly, take a deep breath of confidence, and rest in Him. Trust Him. When we have the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe with us, on our side, helping and loving us, why would we ever need to be afraid?

 Psalm 27 says:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life;Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me,In spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,To behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,And be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

This week, I encourage you to seek His face, trust your all-powerful Creator, and let Him make you brave.