Maybe the inspiration for this article came from repeated viewings of various YouTube clips of the movie
"Divergent" (teehee) or perhaps it was a brief discussion with a friend about the beautiful quote from C.S. Lewis: “Courage, dear heart.” Maybe it was because this whole last year, I’ve had probably over 100 conversations (I don’t even think that’s an exaggeration) regarding the concept of vulnerability. Maybe… Any which way though, this week I’ve decided to discuss the familiar, yet not as common as we’d like to think, virtue of bravery/courage.

There have been many notable mentions of this virtue that I can recall in my life. You have Joshua 1:9, with visions of adorable VBS campers with grass stains and snot smeared across forearms, making biceps whilst singing the musical version of “be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Fast-forward a year and watch the new movie from Disney about a young, unattractive teen Anne Hathaway becoming a full-fledged princess with advice from her father (which has been misattributed so many different times, I don’t dare to try to figure out who actually said it): “Courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” Fast-forward several more years and find a girl who’s as messed up inside as a 16-year-old can be as she consumes a young adult dystopian series where one group of people prize bravery above most anything: “I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren’t all that different.”

Many of us have been told from an early age to “be brave.” We fall and scrape our knee as a chubby five-year-old, and our parents tell us to “be brave” and not cry. We have to get a shot at the doctor’s office and it’s the same story. But what about the things that you can’t see on the outside? A mental illness, a heartbreak, a lost dream…how can we be brave with them? Should we hide them away, like we did our tears when we were little? I don’t think so. I don’t think hiding our scars has anything to do with bravery. In fact, I think it has more to do with cowardice. There is a special sort of strength in vulnerability and trust, and while the rest of the world may think it’s weak, I think fighting the inner voice that tells you that you don’t matter enough for anyone to listen to your troubles is the bravest thing to do. So what is courage anyway? Let’s go back to Joshua 1:9…courage and strength is the assurance that God is with us and in us and will not fail us. "Princess Diaries," courage is choosing not to let fear keep you from that is bigger than it. "Divergent," courage is acknowledging that you are not alone in this life and bravery is being as good to others as you are to yourself.