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Hope and courage


What does hope have to do with courage? 


I got the answer from a bumblebee. 


Just a few feet away from me, an imminent threat to some, he hovers around the lavender this morning, tediously but persistently checking each tiny blossom for pollen. I move to pick up my coffee mug; he dodges ever so slightly, then returns to his task, inching closer and closer to where I sit as he works his way down the row. 


It’s not that he’s careless of or oblivious to danger; he is just more determined than his instinctive and fully justifiable fears to secure what he needs in spite of them. Many of the blooms have dried or fallen, but he persists in checking each one anyway, driven by a minuscule possibility that there still might be something left. He hopes. He is driven by hope. His hope gives him courage to persist. And as he persists, courageously, he is rewarded by finding the occasional prize. Because of his courage, he finds more reason to hope. 


So hope and courage flow in an interdependent state, one emerging from the other, then the reverse; one fueling the other, being rewarded and motivated to continue. Hope gives us courage and our courageous persistence helps us find reasons to hope. This is how faith works. 


If you’re searching for hope, take a courageous step. If your courage is failing you, lean on your hope, find courage in it, and use it to pull yourself up, steadier and stronger, ready to face the challenges ahead. 


#BackyardDevo 

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