Old-Fashioned Fruitcake
Some people give up and then regret it. Some people don’t give up, and then regret it.
And then there are people like me who never quite give up but still take ten years to finish a quilt or [censored] years to finish a novel.
Which sort of person do you tend to be?
When you think of courage, who do you think of? Tell us a story!
Myself, I think of Mark 10:32-34.
Let me set the scene: Jesus is walking down the road, heading for Jerusalem. Some way behind him come his followers, boggling at what’s happening in front of them. And behind his followers, a crowd, uneasy, anxious and fearful. They can tell there’s something going on, but they don’t know what.
Jesus does know what’s going on. He knows that when he gets to Jerusalem he will be betrayed, and the people will “mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip and kill him.”
But he’s going to Jerusalem all the same. His purpose is firm, he’s set his course, and he won’t be deflected. Every step he takes is bringing him closer to unearned pain, suffering and death, and he knows it. But on he goes, and the people follow, fearful and amazed.
Courage consists not in hazarding without fear; but being resolutely minded in a just cause.
Plutarch