Courage

There’s a scene in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus sends his disciples out on a boat on a lake. Later that night, he appears to them, walking on the water amidst the winds that blew. The disciples are afraid, thinking they’ve seen a ghost. But then Jesus yells at them to take courage.

Peter, upon hearing this, decides to be bold. He does as Jesus commands, getting out of the boat and walking upon the water just as Jesus was doing. But then he sees the waves and the wind and his boldness and courage falter. He starts to freak out. He begins to doubt. And he sinks into the water.

I have often read that story and thought that Peter was a man of little faith. I thought Peter was scared. I thought of how Peter lost his boldness and his courage.

But then, recently, I thought of the other disciples that just stuck to the boat. At least Peter took a few steps, even if he faltered. They didn’t have courage to begin with. They stayed stuck in the boat.

It kind of reminded me of that old adage that’s ascribed to Laozi (which I love so much I made a Facebook cover for it once upon a time):

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Sometimes, that single step out into the scary world is all we need to make a new journey. But that single step requires courage. It requires a bit of boldness. It requires the desire to make a change.

But that single step can be failure. That single step may not be without mishap. Peter after all doubts himself after taking that step. And the stories in the Gospels show he doubted over and over again afterwards. But he is also remembered for walking on water, even if it was just a step or two or however many he made before the fears and doubts overtook him.

Courage isn’t the opposite of fear. It’s more the act of facing those fears. It’s taking heart. It’s doing what needs to be done even if there is failure.

It’s easy to stay stuck in our fear, just as the other disciples did in the boat. It’s easy to wish for changes, to wish for something better, to offer thoughts and prayers while remaining firmly planted in our seats.

But it takes courage to take that step out of the boat. We have to take heart if we want to change, whether it be just ourselves or the whole world. We have to not be afraid to fail or sink into the water, even if we doubt.

“Have I the courage to change? / Have I the courage to change? / Have I the courage to change today?”

~Sia “Courage to Change” / P¡nk “Courage”

To sow the seeds of love and hope, peace and joy, faith, light and yes, even magic, we have to find that courage to walk on the water and to take that first step. To continue to write our own stories requires it. So take heart. Find your courage. Set out on that journey.

Stay magical.

Write your own story.

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