Be strong and courageous...
Deuteronomy 31:6
fortitude n. the strength and courage to bear misfortune,
pain, etc., calmly and patiently; firm courage
How do you bear what is, for the most part, unbearable? How do you keep going in the face of adversity and disaster? Where does one find courage when the pain is so great that it seems to crush our very soul?
One family has had to answer all of these questions in the last several weeks. Their young son, a twin not quite four years old, began to have increasingly severe coordination and balance issues. A trip to the Emergency Room revealed a diagnosis that no one could have foreseen, much less been prepared for: malignant brain tumor. Within the space of hours, their whole world turned upside-down. Surgery to remove the growth, spinal tap for staging, and now preparation for chemotherapy and radiation.
In the midst of all the fear and grief, I'm sure the question surfaced - How can I ever bear this? The answer? You just do. From somewhere deep inside of yourself, you pull up reserves of strength and courage that you never knew you had. You draw on the strength of your family and friends, the strength of your faith, and the strength that pours down from God. In a word, you face the unimaginable with fortitude.
When my youngest daughter was born with severe congenital heart defects, my husband went home for a few minutes to get us a few clean clothes and some toiletries (we were "living" in the hospital waiting room). When he returned, it took me a while to realize that he had something rather bulky stashed in a pocket of his pants. During a particular period of intense grief and pain, he reached in the pocket and pulled out a little sleeper that someone had given us for our little girl. Looking me in the eye, he said, "I brought this for our daughter to wear home. We have to hang unto that belief. We have to hold on to that strength." We did, and she did.
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