Courage to Accept Change

Week 27, Friday

Sandy Smith

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Courage comes in many forms. My mom, a strong woman of faith, became a widow at fifty-nine years of age when Dad died in his midsixties after many years of fighting heart disease. Alone for the first time after thirty-nine years of marriage and four children, my mother drew very close to the Lord and felt assured of His presence. The previous years had been filled with concern for my dad’s condition and caring for his needs. With Dad gone and all four children living out of state, she had an overwhelming feeling of aloneness.

To make things worse, a rare virus attacked her nervous system and set in motion a degeneration of her nerves. She began to lose function in her right hand and her left foot. None of her doctors gave her much hope; most told her she would be in a wheelchair within a year. The one thing you do not want to do is tell my mom she can’t do something! When she lost the ability to write and handle a fork with her right hand, she taught herself to use her left hand. She joined the YMCA and began a regimen of swimming three times a week. It has now been over twenty years since she was told the distressing news and she is still not in a wheelchair; in fact, she uses only a cane. Mom was not afraid to confront a difficult situation and stare it down.

In the early nineties, two of my siblings moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth area where my husband and I had been living for several years. Realizing that the Metroplex was going to be home to all of us, we encouraged Mom to sell her Arkansas home of fifty years and move to Texas, leaving her sister, church, and hometown. We found a great house for her and she agreed to come look at it. This was the first time she had ever made a big decision without my dad. We were all amazed as God revealed His plan to her in a dream. She boldly sold her home, allowed us to load all she had in a moving truck, and moved south to Texas. Unlike so many her age, she embraced her new life, became active at church, made many new friends, and best of all became part of her grandchildren’s lives. She would have missed tremendous blessings without the courage to try new things and move forward even in her golden years.

Dear Lord, Thank You for our godly moms who inspire us every day. Give me the courage to remain flexible throughout life’s changes. Keep me from missing a blessing due to fear. In Jesus’ name, amen.