Greetings Dear Reader,
“A sound, too, began
to throb in his ears, a sort of bubbling like the noise of a large pot
galloping on the fire, mixed with a rumble as of a gigantic tom-cat purring.
This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its
sleep down there in the red glow in front of him. It was at this point that Bilbo stopped.
Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things
that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. he fought the real
battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in
wait.” The Hobbit
How often do we think of battle and danger when we think of
courage? Most often our image of courage
tends toward the extraordinary. It leans
toward the great stories and amazing events.
We need to remember that all around us and perhaps even in
us are amazing acts of courage every day.
Most of our obviously courageous choices are made in the quiet dark when
we are alone. There, where no one else
is watching, we choose to do the right thing.
We continue to do that which moves us along in the journey in the right
way.
As the road opens before us there may be many dangers and
toils that require our courage. We
practice it by doing the hard work alone and without any words. We do the brave thing when we continue to
follow in faith when all else seems despair.
We are courageous when we believe in the midst of our own doubt.
It is in our mind that we must find our courage long before
we are faced with goblins, spiders, and dragons. It is the daily choice to be courageous that
prepares us for the visible challenges.
Someone recently called me a coward because of choices I made. I will not debate their label or call them
out. Rather, I will say that I have only
one solution to fear: love
Bilbo found his courage because of his love for his
companions. He ventured from his comfortable
Hobbit hole to aid them because he cared for their quest to regain their own
home and hearth. He grew to love them on
the journey and when faced with the dragon, chose his love over his own fear.
I have a friend who is showing amazing courage right now by
facing the same fears and doubts she has for years but doing so in faith. I had to make hard choices in order to face
some things that I had long avoided. The
common thread I find is that sometimes others will see fear or cowardice when
we are actually being very brave. It is
only through our own faith and in our own hearts that we know the truth of our
choices.
I have had to face some of my deepest fears of late Dear
Reader. I admit that there are times
when that fear has been in charge. There
have also been those who have had the courage to show me love anyway. It is the constant evidence of love and
compassion that casts out fear and creates the fertile soil in which courage
can grow. At the heart of every
courageous act is love, even if it means showing it to those who do not deserve
it in our eyes.
Have courage Dear Reader.
I may not be able to do everything the way you wish me to do it. I will, however, love you and pray for you to
find the courage to continue the journey in faith and hope. I will love you no matter what you have done
or do. I promise to love you no matter
how you have or will treat me. It is the
only sure way I know to mitigate my own fear and help with yours.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
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