Fear is for the Brave

I had lost all hope…

These are the words of one father, whose wife had recently run off, secondary to the fact that their child had disabilities. He was a peasant farmer and lived in a six by ten foot mud hut. His precious daughter, Shakira greatly struggles to feed herself, bathe, sit in a chair, stand up and do anything independently.

He works in the fields all day and does not have the knowledge or awareness of his daughter’s vast potential.

When I walked into their mud hut, I saw cracked mud on the walls, dirty cooking pots in the corner, bamboo mats covering the ground where they sleep, horrendous smells, one shirt hanging on the wall and a lonely bench in the middle of the room. This was their home.

As the past medical history was gathered from the Father, Shakira and I kept smiling back at each other and I saw my beautiful sister, Kate’s eyes staring back at me through this precious girl. My eyes flooded with tears. I knew that this was why I was here.

Shakira’s father expressed fear regarding the many challenges lying before him in providing for his daughter. His crops this season had been unsuccessful. He thought his daughter was cursed. He had to be in the field all day. He had no idea on how to help his daughter. An easy option would be to run off. Yet, he said…

I will do whatever it takes. I can carry her the 6 miles to get her help.

Wow.

Despite the winding and uncertain roads ahead, through this father, I witnessed a paradox. I saw how to be fearless is to be fearful. For cowards never stare fear straight in the eye — Fear is for the brave.

We all desire a smooth ride along this journey of life. I feel as though its a part of being human. At times, I find myself wondering why God doesn’t seem to intervene when we cry for help. Why does God delay?

Everyone goes through hard times. Its simply a part of life. However, we can’t allow that moment to bind us. We should not let it define us. We must take heart, step forward and be faithful to the end.

I see through the eyes of these brave souls that we can’t let our hearts be hardened by the trials we undergo.

Through our lives, we have a responsibility to grow in the gift of faith. Through the wait, HE will increase our faith. Our task is to simply stare fear straight in the eye and continue serving with a smile 🙂

There is so much hope to carry on.