I woke up in the middle of the night, thinking, "Man, she's brave." Then I got to thinking, "What is brave?" According to the dictionary it's possessing or exhibiting courage. So what is courage? Again, according to the dictionary it is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain etc.without fear.
Who was I thinking is brave? My sister Debbie. This past few weeks, she has had to face incredible fear, and still pressed on. Then just a couple of days ago, she willingly submitted to open heart surgery, knowing full well what it entails, but did it to pursue the outcome of being alive on the other side, and being able to breath again, and for her, most of all, to be able to sing again. Her heart was failing, and her lungs had been filling with fluid from her failing heart. Now with her heart fixed by the hands of a skilled surgeon, guided by God Himself (I know this to be true, because we prayed), she will again be able to sing and live healthy and whole. She's brave.
I thought of the scripture that said of Jesus, ..." who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." Jesus knew what was ahead of him, what he had to suffer physically, to obey His Father's command. What was the joy? We were. The redeeming of all mankind. He took on all that pain and suffering because that was what was required to redeem us. He kept His eyes on the goal, and off the pain, just like my sister is now having to keep her eyes on the goal of a healthy fixed heart, so she can sing and live. She holds on to knowing God is with her through the pain of recovery, and the outcome will be worth it.
A scripture given to Debbie on the day of her surgery is, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody." Psalms 57:7 When we shared that scripture with her following her surgery, she had a huge smile. She even said, "This is the first smile I've had in quite a while." We were smiling with her! Her heart is fixed! She WILL sing and make melody!!!