BRAVE {Finding the Promise to Endure} ~ Five Minute Friday

This is the post each week where I
Link arms with others who like to
Write on the wild side –unabashedly
Over at Lisa-Jo’s.

For five minutes time.
Without editing or backtracking
On one word alone:

BRAVE

The word makes me look at the floor. You see, I’ve never been, and often wonder if this should fall in my list of regrets. I’ve settled for believing God simply made me to cling. Instead of laughing at danger, I hold on to safety. His arm is my preferred choice. And He doesn’t seem to mind…

I’ve been put in harm’s way, though. This world spins wildly, after all, and I’m living in it. Sometimes, it seems His arm extends beyond what’s comfortable. And though I’m still holding…grasping…dangling…danger finds me. Pain often ensues.

Yet I make it through. I may leave scars on His hands because of it, but He never lets go.

A friend who loves me more than I deserve once told me I was brave. She proclaimed it was the only reason I was still standing after the last blow. I gazed at the frieze as I confessed she was wrong.

I’m not brave, I told her. I just know how to hold on.

She stepped a bit closer and waited for me to look up. When I met her dare, she whispered:

“Nikki, brave doesn’t mean reckless.
It means you endure.
No matter what comes your way,
you know where to go to find the courage to make it through.
And you’re the bravest friend I know.”

My bottom lip began to quiver as I let her words find my heart. She wrapped her arms tight when I lost my breath. My knees wobbled, but she held fast. And I told her then, and have many times since:

“Friend, you bring me courage when hope seems lost.
I’m only able to find bravery when you’re here, reminding me to hold fast.”

And we decide then brave isn’t something you need to be. It’s a promise you need to find.

So when trouble comes your way–and it will (John 16:33), you’ll know the arm on which to cling to. And you’ll find it (bravery) on the other side when you realize…He never let go.

STOP.

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How about you, friend? Have you found bravery? How do you define it? I’d love to hear.

Thanks for sharing your time with me.

Simply striving,

Nikki