Sometimes the Good Girls Win...

"When in doubt, do the courageous things" ~ Jan Smuts

What makes you courageous?

I sometimes think I'm most courageous when I hold my tongue, because it's by far the hardest thing for me to do. I LIKE to speak my mind. haha! But I know that often, when I've been wronged or I'm in a situation that seems impossible, the best thing I can do is STOP.  Just like the old adage says, "actions speak louder than words."  But I have SO MANY WORDS!

When someone says something untrue about me, as happened not too long ago, I have a hard time not jumping to take up for myself and try to prove them wrong. Or better yet, discredit them by saying mean things in return. (A sort of, "oh yeah? Take that!" kinda thing.) Yet the times that I didn't attack the person who said something untrue are the ones that have turned out the best. Instead of retaliating, I chose to walk the high road.  And there I have always found that truth wins!

I know the world says stand up and fight - and I know there are times when that is the answer. But it takes a lot of courage for me to turn that other cheek! (Oddly, Kerry is the exact opposite! Only in the last few years has he started standing up for himself because he's so gentle to start with. His courage is definitely finding his voice.)

This week holding my tongue involved that whole picture drama I mentioned on Friday. You cannot imagine how hard it has been to just listen. I have endured hearing untruth after untruth - and wanting to fight back. I've felt like a counselor hearing every little problem....and I've sat silently and sympathized despite all the things I really wanted to say.  And guess what? It paid off! I have some PRECIOUS pictures of my son now.  (He did a whole lot of keeping his mouth shut too, so I guess we accomplished this one together! Way to go, Billy!)  Of course, the first act of courage was making the phone call...so I guess I wasn't completely silent. Ha! But once I made that contact, there was a whole lot of holding my tongue.

I'm sure courage manifests itself in me in all different ways. But this week...it was when I said little to nothing at all. I wonder what it'll look like next week!

So back to my question: what makes you courageous? And how does that look in your world?

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