The star of Brave in the real world

Several years ago a movie titled Brave came out into theaters. It featured a little girl who was seeking her own voice and path in a life that had already been planned out for her. I took my daughter to see this movie and we love it but I don't think Merida was all that Brave. I guess by movie standards she was Brave in facing a bear, standing up for what is right, but at the end of the movie I saw a selfish little girl who was only Brave because she had to be. Maybe we all face moments where we are brave because we have to be. I don't think anyone walks around thinking,"I want to be brave. Test my braveness." In reality I think we are brave when we least expect it or possibly when we least want to be.

My little girl was born with a cleft palate. She was very fortunate that it was only the palate and not the lip. The cleft also did not bother any or her gums. When she was born she would not eat due to the palate and she had a hard time thriving for several weeks. Fortunately we live in a city that has wonderful children's hospitals and we put her under the care of the cleft team at Cardinal Glennon. At 16 months the cleft was repaired. Honestly it was an awful experience. I don't know if you have ever been in a situation to watch your child suffer but if you have you understand the torture we went through. Our daughter cried for a full 48 hours after we got home and she was in so much pain, it hurt us so bad because we could do nothing. One day she turned a corner and suddenly she was playing and happy again. Our daughter does not remember any of the things that happened with that first surgery because she was so small but all of that is about to change. 

At our cleft team visit this year the doctors determined that my little girl will need another surgery. After a marathon of doctors; ENT, audiology, speech, plastic surgery, dental, and a battery of tests prodding a poking they told us we needed one more test to determine if she needed surgery. She had to have a nasal scope, basically they put a camera up her nose and asked her to speak. At first my 5 year old seemed afraid of this task but then she bravely accepted the challenge and did a wonderful job. As she waited for her scope that was admittedly scary for her, she sang a song she learned at her preschool. "Our God is a great big God." She began to sing a soon there was a host of people watching and smiling, some were even crying. She did the scope and our fear were confirmed that she will indeed be facing another surgery, a surgery that she will remember. 

I walked into the news of surgery with faith but in the days that have followed I have been met with doubt, fear, and anxiety. I know God has kept my baby girl and our family in his care but why this? Why must we continue on this journey? Why does someone so small have to be so brave? I am sure many mother's of children fighting illness, disease or any medical struggle have asked God the same question. It seems unfair that a small child should be asked to bear such a great burden but I know plenty of people whose children bear a similar or even harder burden than my own. How do we walk through these challenges with faith and grace while still being human? 

I am afraid I cannot answer that question but I do know a few things. I know that my daughter frequently reminds me that she loves Jesus more than me and that is a start. The first time she told me that I almost cried. She looked at me like she thought I was angry and I looked back at her and said, "that is always how it should be. Make sure you always love God more than people and he will give you a heart to love people well." See she has the correct priorities. Her heart longs after God without question. She does not have to doubt, she just has faith. When she comes to a new situation she approaches it with faith. My challenge is how to model walking with faith in this new situation so that she can demonstrate and live out her faith in this obstacle too. 

I also know that God is not the author of bad things. We live in a fallen world broken by sin. When Adam and Eve sinned the whole of humanity was cursed with sin and the effects of sin. There was no longer perfect communion with God. Our bodies now struggle with sickness and the effects of the fall. The whole of nature is crying out for redemption because of the sinfulness of man. Most Christians embrace these truths as fact but honestly it is hard to live them out in the face of our struggles. So what then are we to do when faced with a situation that requires bravery? I believe we are to set our hearts and minds on God like king David and God will use us to slay Giants. Exodus 14:14 says that the Lord will fight your battles you need only be still. I think that the being still is the hard part. We can not see God's plan from out limited human perspective but he calls us to have faith and trust, that is what makes us truly brave. So the next time you are faced with a situation that requires you to be brave consider your options, face the situation with your own strength or call upon the one who endured death, even death on a cross, to reverse the curse of sin.