Courage and Lions

Courage and Lions

I recently bought a shirt that says in big and bold letters that says “courage cannot erase our fear, courage is when we face our fear”. It’s from the musical “The Newsies”, I fell in love with the characters and the way they took a stand against the lions of newspapers publishers. If you get a chance to watch it, it is on streaming platforms right now.

These words resonated with me because there are times when I feel terrified. And most of the time my courage did not change the fact that I was terrified but I did what I needed to do and got through the fear and that did not magically make the fear go away. You just learn to function with that fear.

On bad mornings when I get up earlier than usual because fears are crowding my sleep. I have a routine for those days. First music comes on, usually Christian music.  Then I make myself a cup of tea. I pull out my bible and re-read those verse I’ve memorized since I was a child. James 1:2-3, Psalm 23, 2 Timothy 1:7. Then finally I send out a prayer chain. A text to those I know will send up prayers for me. Then usually before I go to work I feel like I can function. It usually takes a couple of days after a fear attack like that to actually feel like Danie again. Fear is like a storm that hovers on the horizon long after the storm has passed.

Being named Danielle, I have always found Daniel from the Bible an very relatable.  Danie is someone who knew who his God was and the power that he has.

I have often wondered how Daniel felt with when he was thrown into Lion’s den. Did he accept the fact that he would die? Did he hide? Were there lasting side effects from the lions. Did he feel closer to God or was there just an satisfaction that God saved him so he didn’t feel like he needed to change that relationship? Did he feel guilty that he was saved? Could he see lions again after that or was it too hard?

Life is full of lions that steal joy and crowd in fear. The only way to get over a fear is yes face those fears but that doesn’t always mean that fear will be conquered. That fear will always be there. Like my fear of meeting new doctors, it will always be there and I will always be afraid that they will find something wrong with me. My way of coping is being honest with myself that it’s okay to be afraid. Jman and I bathe the appointment in prayer and then when we are done we laugh about how nervous we were. We also remember to celebrate a good appointment and bad appointments. Because every appointment is God ordained and he knows the plan better than we do.

Psalm 56:12-13
I am under vows to you my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
TTFN and God Bless and Keep You