Wordful Wednesday- Bravery

My sister follows a blog by a woman of the name of Cocoa.  Both she and my sister homeschool, however, as far as I can tell, neither of them use their food storage cans to make suits of armor, intentionally braid their daughter's hair to look plain NOR do any of them wear hosiery under their jeans, which are under their dresses, and then put on high top Reeboks. :) 

Anyway, back to the topic.  Each Wednesday, Cocoa does something called Wordful Wednesday and then provides a word on which to expound your thoughts.  Rarely do I look at Cocoa's blog, unless Meg chooses to participate in something Cocoa is doing, like her Wednesday activity.  Two weeks ago, Meg posted her contribution on the word bravery.  Since then, I've been more attentive the the things I see people do every day that are scary, or that show bravery in some way.  I don't consider myself to be brave in most ways, although maybe I've done bold things, as opposed to brave.  However, I thought I'd list a few brave things I've seen just as some food for thought.

• One of my 9th grade students is incredibly shy.  He has trouble asking for anything, much less just conversing with anyone sitting around him.  He rarely speaks up and tries to be as invisible as possible.  This week during a review game, the other three teams had eliminated themselves and he was the only one left to answer.  I was worried he would stay silent, even though I knew he had the answer.  Giving the answer would require him to stand up and say it in front of the class.  I looked at him hopefully, then at the timer, ticking down 5....4....3....2.... He stood up!  And stated his answer with his voice loud and clear!  His team earned the points and he grinned from ear to ear for the rest of class.
• One of my best friend's is fighting an addiction.  He's battled with it for five years.  It had gotten progressively worse and worse until the past month, where I believe he finally hit his bottom.  We were able to get together for awhile yesterday.  It was his 10th day of sobriety.  As we spent some time together, the withdrawals were evident.  But he battled through them and spoke of how scared he was to fail.  I thought of the word "bravery" and wondered how much more courage it takes to be sober and make changes, to make amends and ask for the forgiveness of those you've wronged during your time of weakness.  Ten days doesn't sound like much, but in an addict's world, its a lifetime. 
• My last moment of bravery has to be my own, I guess.  As I've mentioned, I'm in for the 1/2 marathon in May.  That honestly scares me to death.  And it took every ounce of bravery (stupidity?) in me to log on the computer at 6:00 a.m. this past Thursday morning and fill out my forms to run.  Doing that made me feel empowered and courageous.  It made me feel scared and hesitant.  But again, I thought about the "bravery" and moved forward.

I saw a post on FB the other day from a friend of mine.  It said "I can do hard things."  That was the theme of the YW program in her ward this year.  I think all of us are capable of hard things when we remember to be brave.  In order to be brave, you have to have faith.  Faith in yourself and faith that the Lord, in his wisdom and care, will grant you the skills you need in order to be brave.  Whether you succeed or fail, you can say "I did the hard thing."