Courage: It's Not Just Jumping out of Airplanes

I have a friend who likes to sky dive. I have a husband who doesn't smile unless he's driving a race car around the Nascar track in Vegas (The Richard Petty thing) or riding his motorcycle down the highway or throwing himself down mountains on his mountain bike. I have friends who in the summer go boating every single day off.

I do none of these things. 1. My ears don't pop. 2. Regarding cars and bikes of every sort, I've had my share of accidents and frankly, I'm tired of throwing my back out and misplacing ribs and having high insurance. 3. Water sports just honestly don't do anything for me. The wind, the rough ride, eh.

From these types of people, I'm constantly asked, "What do you do? Don't you do anything but read?" And as a less polite person said to me once, "You're so gutless, I don't see how you get out of bed in the morning."

Let me keep this brief: 

The guy with speech impediment...do you not think it takes courage to speak in front of a group of people?

The person in the wheelchair whose limbs are a bit twisted, do you think he LIKES to be stared and gawked at? Tell me it doesn't take courage to wheel around like that in the grocery store.

The girl who grew up hearing impaired, who was laughed at and made fun of every day...who when she told people she couldn't hear, the you-know-what would hit the fan and she'd be out of job, called a retard, or something else...do you think that it takes some courage for her to go out and deal with people, talk to them face-to-face (hoping she can understand them) and tell them, "I'm sorry, but I can't hear"?

The woman with a learning disability who's so used to being told she's dumb, does it not take great courage to stick her chin up, grab her books, and go to college, fully prepared for her classmates to sneer at her?

So, yea, you throw yourself out of an airplane and dang, that's gutsy. I can't do it. But it's important for everyone to remember...bravery and courage comes in many forms. I'd like to part with that age-old saying..."Until you've walked in my shoes..."

So...do something courageous today.