Being Brave

"Help us be brave with one another, for these are the days."    What does this prayer mean to you when you first read it?  I read it several times as my mind tried to wrap around it.   It struck me somewhere deep and I couldn't stop reading the phrase.  To be brave...have courage, boldness, not be scared or worried...   Those were my initial thoughts.  For today has enough worry of it's own, right?  So be joyful and brave.  God is with you.    Then, I looked it up in the dictionary and what it said really made me think.  Brave; ready to face and endure danger or pain, show courage. Read that again, would you?  I still can't stop reading it.
I had this picture in my head of Superman or Batman, maybe because I recently watched the movies of these superheroes.  When their person becomes the hero, they are super strong, super courageous, super people...not afraid of anything, not scared, not thinking of themselves...they are brave.  But when the mask and outfit comes off, we see that they are just people.  They love, desire, fear, hurt and feel.  Is it really being a superhero that we desire?  To be strong, courageous, not afraid of anything, always thinking of others first?   Sometimes, I think I do desire that.  I weigh myself down too often with the cares of this world and desire to just let it all go.  "Don't worry, but happy!"   But this prayer that I read this morning brought me back down to earth.  It's not just about being ready to face and overcome danger or pain...it's about being ready to face and endure danger or pain.  It's about living.  It's about reconciliation and restoration.  It's about being willing to go deep within to face and endure the danger and pain in broken relationships, with addictions, with hurts, fears and doubts.  It's about being vulnerable.  For it is when we allow ourselves to walk through the pain and hurt that we can be restored and renewed. These were words I needed to hear today.  This is a challenge I need to grab hold of in my life.
"Help us be brave with one another, for these are the days."
Jesus, may we love openly, enter into the deep wounds and scars of our hearts, reach out with compassion and hope in relationships where there is heartache and hurt and experience the healing power of your love and grace.  And may we find humility when others come, trying to brave in their relationship with us.  For these are the days that have been given to us.  This is our time.  May we have courage to be brave with one another today.  Amen
I am reading a new book, Cold Tangerines, by Shanuna Neiquist.  Brian gave it to me for Mother's Day. and I am loving it.  She writes a collection of short stories, glimpses of life experiences and how they have shaped her.  This prayer was in a chapter I read this morning.