My reflection today comes from Fresh Bread:
“The winter of our lives gives us the opportunity to grow in courage. The winter of our lives takes patience, self-sacrifice, self discipline, and faithful love. Courage helps us to accept what cannot be changed and to struggle through what needs to be changed. Courage helps us to gently say what we believe, to hold onto what we know is a value despite the risk of rejection, doubt or failure. Courage enables us to offer forgiveness knowing there may be no response, to give generously of our time and have a little left to warm our own weary hearts. Courage empowers us to try again when there seems to be only repeated failure, to love wholeheartedly even though all the odds seem against that love being received or returned.” – Joyce Rupp
People who have the gift of courage are those who can feel angry, hurt, or depressed, yet can bounce back into life and out of fear of laughter and enthusiasm to other lives as well as their own