March 1: Introduction

March 1: Introduction

People are life – it’s one of my personal survival facts. They are my oxygen and energy.  I definitely have times when I want only a few people, but my normal mode is “the more, the merrier.”  I know… I know … you introverts are crawling out of your skin right now, but hang with me here.

The end of 2019 brought the murmurings of the whole world locking down!  It seemed like the most ridiculous and absolutely impossible thing that could ever happen.  In fact, it seemed so impossible that my family went on a cruise in January 2020.  But then, February 2020 hit, and phrases like “flattening the curve,” “2-week lockdowns”, “masking,” and “social distancing” entered our social world, and I was in shell shock.  How in the world could this possibly be happening?

Now, it must be shared- I adore my family.  I’m married to my summer camp sweetheart, and we have the 3 coolest kids.  We also have 2 dogs named Brave and Tucker, a fish aquarium, a snake, and a rabbit named Autumn.  So, although we were in lockdown, I must admit I had some people and animals I loved that I could connect with – Phew!  On top of all that, I was determined to make the best of the situation and use the time wisely.  And if I’m being totally honest, my soul was a little scared it was gonna shrivel up and die.

As a family, we set our minds to make this experience something we could learn and grow from.  We implemented school time, family game time, family dinners, workouts, and catching up on certain projects around the house.  All in all, we look back at that time and are pretty grateful for how we were able to go through it.

As the world slowly opened back up, you’d think I would’ve been the first one to run out and be with ALL THE PEOPLE!

But…..

But as we all know, that season of lockdowns allowed for a lot of new conflicts to enter our social circles, and things felt tense and awkward.  Masking was an issue, social distancing was an issue, taking or not taking the vaccine was an issue, and sickness was an issue.  It felt like everything was an issue.  I hated it.  I couldn’t process it.  There was so much conflict and so much hate.  My world of joy had turned into an ugly place I didn’t know what to do with.

So, instead of being out with people, I found myself staying home – day after day, week after week.  I was happy to just be with my family.  They felt safe and easy.

I couldn’t recognize people behind their masks – that felt awkward.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying behind their masks – that felt awkward.

I might see a friend and wasn’t sure whether to hug them, fist bump them, or just not even engage with them- that felt awkward. My world, which brought me so much joy, was so drastically different I didn’t know what to do. It brought me fear, anxiety, and conflict.

As I began to see myself withdraw more and more, I realized I needed to get on top of it; I couldn’t stay away from the world forever. I needed a deep kind of courage.  A courage I couldn’t muster on my own.  I needed a God powered courage.  I needed ……. HOLY COURAGE.

What is Holy Courage?  I define it as courage that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit.  It’s the kind of courage that reminds you that God is with you; you cannot fail.  It defies all sense of security and reason.

But how? I like to learn things from watching others.  Who better to learn from right?  And God has given us so many examples in the Bible.  We can look and see how He gave them Holy Courage and they did not fail.  So that is where I started.  I started looking at the stories we all hear in Sunday school growing up. But this time, I didn’t just sit and listen to the version that a Sunday school teacher might teach; I got my bible and read it myself.  And can I tell you something?  I learned so much more!

Each week of this study will be focused on a different story and the courage we can find in that story. Some of these stories may be familiar, but I challenge you to take the time to read them for yourself.  Don’t rely on what you’ve heard over the years from others’ teachings. While it’s good and helps us grow in our faith, there is also great value in reading and learning for ourselves.

Thank you for joining me on this journey to gather Holy Courage. You are made for great things, and God has great plans for you.  Some may be easy, and some may be hard.  But this I know, it takes Holy Courage to live the life God has for you and He’s filling you with it.

On this journey of courage with you,

Bonnie