Courageous
So, I just finished watching this movie called Courageous. It is about a man who is a father and a police officer. Adam worked hard and wad good at his job but when it came to his family he was good enough - not really taking time to spend with his son,15, and his daughter, 9. Until one day, his daughter was killed by a drunk driver when she was in a car with her friend during a sleepover. Adam realized just how mediocre he really is as a parent. From that moment on Adam began to search God and the Bible on how to be a better dad to his son. Anyone can be a dad, but it takes courage to be a father.
This movie struck me in many different ways. It really is a movie to be seen by families and more importantly, fathers. I am not a man nor am I a parent, but a phrase in that movie really struck me. I haven't cried in about 10 months, but this movie made me cry. I know what it is like to lose someone tragically and suddenly. You have these feelings that you can't explain. Emotions that won't come or stop coming. No one understands. You realize all the things you missed or never said to that person and you know you will never get to say to them.
Adam, started asking those same questions. Someone said to him, "Don't look at the years that will never come or those moments that you will never have, remember those years that you did have and be thankful that you had them." That is more of a paraphrase than a quote, but its basically the same. I never looked at losing someone that way before.
I am so thankful and blessed to have had the moments I had with Chris (my nephew). They were nine good years. I moved to Baltimore in 2007 so I didn't get to see him other than on Facebook or on the holidays, but I am so thankful for them. I am thankful for the moments I had with Danielle (my niece) and the memories I have of her are still so vivid. And many other people in my family that I have lost. I remember them. I remember those good moments and I'm thankful for the time I had with them. We may never know the reasons why things happen, but we must remember to be thankful for what God has done and not question Him when things get tough. Chris was 25 and Danielle was 2, and there will never be a reason that will explain and comfort the fact that they are not here on this Earth.
Instead of focusing our attention on what God hasn't done or repeatedly asking God 'why', focus on what He has done. Be a person of courage. Stand for what is right, even if you stand alone. Be a person of integrity, honesty, and love - true love. God has created us to be passionate people with a yearning heart to do what is right, but it has been our free-will that has hindered us from doing and being all that we are meant to be.
So my challenge to you is this: Search your heart and your soul. Ask yourself, "Am I a person of courage?" "Do I stand for what is right?" If so, then I am thankful. If not, then you should ask yourself one more question. "What needs to be done in my life to make me a person of courage and integrity?"
Don't wait until something happens to realize that you should have been a better father, mother, co-worker, friend, church member, daughter, son, wife, and husband. The time is now. Choose this day to live justly, and walk humbly. Be courageous. Stand firm. Live life with purpose and on purpose. It's your life and you choose how you will live it, but a life with God is far better than anything that this world has to offer.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
This movie struck me in many different ways. It really is a movie to be seen by families and more importantly, fathers. I am not a man nor am I a parent, but a phrase in that movie really struck me. I haven't cried in about 10 months, but this movie made me cry. I know what it is like to lose someone tragically and suddenly. You have these feelings that you can't explain. Emotions that won't come or stop coming. No one understands. You realize all the things you missed or never said to that person and you know you will never get to say to them.
Adam, started asking those same questions. Someone said to him, "Don't look at the years that will never come or those moments that you will never have, remember those years that you did have and be thankful that you had them." That is more of a paraphrase than a quote, but its basically the same. I never looked at losing someone that way before.
I am so thankful and blessed to have had the moments I had with Chris (my nephew). They were nine good years. I moved to Baltimore in 2007 so I didn't get to see him other than on Facebook or on the holidays, but I am so thankful for them. I am thankful for the moments I had with Danielle (my niece) and the memories I have of her are still so vivid. And many other people in my family that I have lost. I remember them. I remember those good moments and I'm thankful for the time I had with them. We may never know the reasons why things happen, but we must remember to be thankful for what God has done and not question Him when things get tough. Chris was 25 and Danielle was 2, and there will never be a reason that will explain and comfort the fact that they are not here on this Earth.
Instead of focusing our attention on what God hasn't done or repeatedly asking God 'why', focus on what He has done. Be a person of courage. Stand for what is right, even if you stand alone. Be a person of integrity, honesty, and love - true love. God has created us to be passionate people with a yearning heart to do what is right, but it has been our free-will that has hindered us from doing and being all that we are meant to be.
So my challenge to you is this: Search your heart and your soul. Ask yourself, "Am I a person of courage?" "Do I stand for what is right?" If so, then I am thankful. If not, then you should ask yourself one more question. "What needs to be done in my life to make me a person of courage and integrity?"
Don't wait until something happens to realize that you should have been a better father, mother, co-worker, friend, church member, daughter, son, wife, and husband. The time is now. Choose this day to live justly, and walk humbly. Be courageous. Stand firm. Live life with purpose and on purpose. It's your life and you choose how you will live it, but a life with God is far better than anything that this world has to offer.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
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