Women of Courage

I’m going to begin this post by sharing a section from a previous blog I wrote about confidence.

“In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown talks a lot about courage. She says in the first chapter that courage requires practice, almost like a habit- "We learn courage by couraging". Later she defines courage by going to the root of the word and telling us that cor- is the Latin for heart. "Courage originally meant 'To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart'...Ordinarily courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today's world, that's pretty extraordinary". As I read these pages and her definition of courage I thought about my word confidence.
I looked up the dictionary definitions:
Courage [kur -ij] noun
1. The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.

Confidence [kon-fi-duh ns] noun 

1. A belief or conviction that an outcome will be favorable.

2. Belief in the certainty of something.

3. Belief in the effectiveness of one's own abilities or in one's favorable acceptance by others; self-confidence.

I think these two can be closely linked but I would say confidence is more the belief in oneself and one's ability whereas courage is the ability to act upon those. In Brene's definitions they both involve action- the speaking, the putting out there.”

Last week we were able to go back to the “Women of Courage” Bible Study down in the valley. This post was on my mind as I focused on the word courage. Instead of the usual Bible Study we had a time of testimony and sharing. These woman, my goodness, are indeed courageous- they spoke all of their hearts. We were in tears at the stories these woman would share so honestly. And in return we would try to speak encouragement over them and share our own stories. The stories are too tender for me to share at the moment, but maybe one day I will pass their words along.  But I will tell you is that these woman face hardship every day. They face things that woman should not have to, just to be able to provide a small amount for their family. Shame follows them, sickness plagues them. But they choose courage every day, fighting small battles as well as big ones. Choosing just to get up and care for their family, or working hard so that they do not have to go back onto the streets. And though some people see these woman as dirty or outcasts, I see them as beautiful woman who fight so hard. And I do not use those words because they are the nice, dreamy thing to say, I use them because when my heart was broken down the first week I met them, and then as the Lord reshaped my heart after His in new ways, I think I see them a little more like God does. Covered in grace. They are beautiful and have worth. 

I don’t think people understand the boldness they are speaking when they say the lyrics “break my heart for what breaks yours” because God will. And if there is one thing I’ve learned here, it is that there are so so so many things in this world that breaks God’s heart. I stand at the point, broken, thinking about how much more broken God’s heart is. But how incredible that how much more is God’s love as well. God’s grace. God’s forgiveness. And I’m blown away. Like I sang with these woman the first time we gathered- “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound”.

As I spend time with them I am challenged to live more boldly, more confidently yet more humbly. And I want to join in with them and be known as a woman of courage.