~ COURAGE ~
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"The courage of life is often less a
dramatic spectacle than the courage of
the final moment; but it is no less than
a magnificent mixture of triumph and
tragedy."
John F. Kennedy
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As a little girl, I often daydreamed of
a knight in shining armor who would ride
bravely into my life and rescue me from
my fears and insecurities. This knight
would be fearless; un-phased by
fire-breathing dragons, deep dark caves,
or howling winds. He would have courage
where I had only fear.
The knight never came. I began to look
for other rescuers in my friends,
rolemodels, teachers, and church. Still
I could not find what I sought. My fears
continued to scream in my soul ... and I
felt so weak. I turned to food in an
attempt to silence the monsters in my
belly.
Sometimes my fear and hopelessness were
so desperate that I almost ended my life
- yet something inside of myself stopped
me from doing so. Something inside of me
clung to life and eventually brought me
to The Recovery Group.
In this group of amazing people
I immediately noticed the courage they
exhibited in confronting the challenges
in their lives and in choosing to learn
and grow from every failure and every
success. I marvel at the courage with
which they keep moving towards more and
more healing, in spite of their fears.
They have courage in spite of their fears.
The open, honest sharing of dear friends
in recovery has taught me that even I
had courage all along. Courage is not
the absence of fear; if there were no
fear, there’d be no need for courage.
Courage means making the choice to move
forward in spite of our fears.
ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .
I will honor the courage I have. I will
thank God for giving me the strength to
move forward in spite of fear. I will
celebrate the courage I see in my
friends and I will encourage them on
their journey.