I Was Always Brave
This Week's Theme: Leveling
Monday, February 12, 2001
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long (Psalm 32:3).
Bonus Reading:John 13:1-5
When I was 11, my missionary parents brought my brother and me home on furlough. The next year they returned to India. We thought we'd see them in a few years, but along came World War II. The next time I saw my parents was on my twentieth birthday!
I was really a lonely, frightened little boy who'd buried layers of feelings and couldn't express them. Early in our marriage, after we went to India as missionaries, I'd go out in my Jeep to the villages for weeks at a time. I remember saying to myself, This time when I get home it's going to be different. I'll take Helen in my arms and say, "Honey, I love you." But the minute I got to the door, I froze.
When Helen expressed inadequacy, I interpreted it as feminine weakness. I was always brave. But one day the dam broke. Sobbing uncontrollably at times, I told Helen everything about the terrified, lonely kid inside of me. And you know, I found out that she was amazingly strong, sustaining me. Best of all, when she saw what I was really like, I could express my love, my deepest feelingspositive and negativefreely.
David A. Seamands in Healing Meditations for Life
Respond:
How would you describe your real self? With whom can you share your real self?
Thought to Apply:
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.
Elbert Hubbard (writer and printer, 19th century)
Adapted from Healing Meditations for Life (Victor, 1996). 1 of 1
Jesus, show me the ways I need to grow as a communicator. Give me courage and discernment as I speak.
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