“She tucked belief right into me.”
A few years ago I read this lovely line written by Ann Voskamp who was talking about a grandmother who called out gifts in her that she was afraid to believe.
In my life, belief has been a synonym for courage. Like a toddler at night, with Mama tucking covers tight, I’ve had many snug courage right into me and our family.
When our youngest daughter, Maggie, graduated from college she accepted an internship with the International Justice Mission. She prepared to leave home and live in Guatemala City for a year.
The transition between college and “the real world” is a scary one. Like jumping off a cliff and hoping you hit the water and remember how to swim. A time of hard decisions and what-if-I-don’t-make-it fears.
To launch Maggie into this new season, we invited a group of women for brunch. Women who had loved her, and prayed for her, and poured into her for many years.
I asked each of them to bring a word for Maggie, accompanied by a blessing, a prayer, encouragement, or advice.
The carefully chosen, gracious words from these women were like the gifts the wise men brought the baby Jesus – precious and beautiful, and valuable, but more practical and personal than gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
They were tucking courage into her.
One, prayed Jeremiah 17:7 and shared the word ROOTS and made a collage of words shaped like a tree with roots reaching deep down into the goodness of God.
Another gave her HEART and shared this quote from Anne Lamott:
There’s a lovely Hasidic story of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, ‘Why on our hearts, and not in them?’ The rabbi answered, ‘Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your hearts, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.
A third gave the word MAGGIE because she said in this new season she was certain God would teach her more of who He made her to be.
It wasn’t just the words, but the community surrounding her that said “Take courage as you go. We believe God for the good gifts He has put in you, preparing you for this new season.”
They tucked courage right into her.
What do you see in someone else that you can call out today with a phone call, or a note, or a text?
Who are you tucking courage into today?
