Brave & Courageous
STORIES OF IMPACT
The phone rings, and the team springs into action. Beds are prepared, clothes are gathered, and a meeting is called to prepare the home for new members. The facts about each person never tell the full story, but they are enough to cause our team to feel the sadness deep in their hearts. This is what we have been called to do, so with a deep breath and prayerful heart, each person gets ready to receive another family.
Less than twenty-four hours earlier, she took a huge step of courage for her son and daughter. She never thought about herself or the struggle that was real and personal to her. It was all about her children. She couldn’t stand by any longer and watch her daughter be abused in the darkness of night. She couldn’t look into the sweet eyes of her little boy any longer, knowing that he was starving to death. He should be walking, talking, and playing with others by now, but he has never eaten solid food. Her milk ran dry weeks ago, and he needs food desperately. She struggles to remember when she has eaten last. Malnutrition and abuse are taking a toll on all of them, but what can she do?
“You must be brave to fight through the darkness and believe there is something better for you and your children. ”
It takes courage to ask for help. You must be brave to fight through the darkness and believe there is something better for you and your children. She is brave and courageous, so she took a step for her family. She reached out for help. God knew her timing was perfect because, for the first time, there was a place for her to go and find refuge.
Today, her family eats three healthy meals a day and a few snacks in between. Her daughter is going to school and finding a way to unpack her story. Her son just took his first steps and is getting healthier by the day. She is processing her own story and finding rest for her weary soul. The deep breaths and prayers still flow from our team, but now the laughter of the little one and the excitement of the girl bring smiles and hope to the faces of all of us. And that brave mother smiles, too, knowing her courage has given her family a chance at a future filled with healing, growth, and much more laughter.
Courage comes in all shapes and sizes. It empowers you to move and do something scary. All of us have areas of our lives where we need courage to do hard things. But fear seems to have the loudest voice, screaming above the chaos that there is no hope and no options. Jesus said that His perfect love would drive out fear. He promised that we could come to Him and bring our worries and struggles and we could find rest in Him.
Brave is not a word you toss around lightly when your life and the lives of your children are at stake. But it’s a word that describes our women and our team in Guatemala. And I hope it’s a word that describes you. If we are ever going to change, we must all be brave. I am so grateful that when we run to Him, we find in Him all we need.
