Today’s five minute friday prompt is “name”.
“The Bible tells us about a brave man named Caleb. Do you remember how God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt? Caleb was one of them!”
Four year old Caleb is staring at me intently. The smirk on his face tells me that he knows this story well, but is enjoying not only the hero, but hearing his name.
“Moses sent 12 spies into the promised land to check it out. The spies saw wonderful farmland and huge grapes. They also saw large cities and giants.”
Caleb’s smile gets bigger.
“Many of the spies were afraid of the giants, but not Caleb! He had strong faith and knew God would help them.”
Some of us are born fearless. Both my Rebekah and Joshua are like that. Others are born with a healthy dose of caution, that is my Micah. Some of us are born afraid of our own shadows, that’s my Caleb.
The irony of this makes me smile because his name means brave.
But isn’t true bravery when we are afraid and do it anyway?
There have been many, many times in my life in which I gave into the fears and didn’t push through them. I regret this. I didn’t want Caleb to have the same regrets so I often told him the Bible story about the hero he is named for.
Caleb is now 11 and you know what? He is very brave! My heart swells with pride each time I see him do something he is afraid of. I know how hard that is! That fearful inclination did not go away, but he’s learning to push through it.
What about you, dear friends? What fears are hindering you? I challenge you today to face them, step outside of your comfort zone, and embrace bravery!
About the author
Wonderful advice and Caleb sounds like a treasure.
He absolutely is!
What a wonderful heritage and testimony for a brave boy!
You got me thinking…this is the result. Hope you like it.
There are those who call me brave
but I’m scared beyond belief.
I’ve got one foot in the grave,
and there is no relief.
There are tumours in the mirror now,
like a ‘six-pack’ from hell,
and lack of breath makes me bow
before death’s tolling knell.
I gain my feet. for one more step
and say, “I won’t give in!”
Bravado, though, is the devil’s prep,
to weaken me, and win.
My saving grace is humility,
to endure through this dark misery.
#1 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2019/05/your-dying-spouse-626-why-god-why-fmf.html
You made me cry Andrew! Thank you for this!
I agree, true courage is not when we’re not afraid, but when we are afraid and we push through and do it anyway. I love that Caleb has such an inspiring namesake to look to.
That pushing through is always hard, but always rewarding!
Such encouragement within this story, for sure!
My brain took my post in an entirely different direction than it seems anyone else did. I’m like the FMF black sheep of the week!
Nothing wrong with that! I love how we all take the same word and put different spins on it. It’s part of the fun!
Second post on the name Caleb! One of my faves! Caleb had a “spirit of Hope.” I do too!
Kinda fun that Kate and I both have Calebs almost the same age 🙂 However, Caleb is a very popular name for this age. It gets a bit confusing on the soccer field sometimes lol
Caleb grew into his name! I love this for so it is with each of us. He sees what we will one day be and begins His work of transformation from our very first breath. So glad I stopped here this morning!
I’m so glad you stopped by too! The fact that God begins his work from our first breath is a beautiful!