fear and courage

I spend much of my life fighting fear. Actually, I think the majority of people do. Fears about money, security, self-image, health, and a host of other things dominate many people's thoughts and I am no exception to that. I worry about those things a great deal, but I agonize exponentially more over my loved ones than I do about myself. Though worry is not a good thing, at least unselfish worry can be viewed as more admirable than self-absorbed worry! However, I have been learning a lot about the nature of courage and I happened upon a couple quotes within the last year that have really spoken to me:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." ~ Ambrose Redmoon

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." ~ C.S. Lewis

It often seems a bit ridiculous to me that I am afraid so often considering how privileged I am and the fact that I lack for nothing! Nevertheless, that is my reality and I have had to learn how to take leaps of faith despite my fears. I would like to think that I've developed courage as a result of some of the trials I have faced; I am learning more about having trust and hope despite my fears and I am convinced that God is continually molding that area of my life and faith. My prayer is that I will persevere in allowing myself to be shaped because God knows it is not always easy or comfortable for me!


*Many thanks to both Caitlin and Sarah for the numerous conversations we've had about this topic, both individually and collectively and whose thoughts, prayers and advice have been invaluable to me.