In the documentary Half the Sky, a girl rides her bike to school down a long country road. It is lined with trees, but no neighbors. She’s acutely aware she could be kidnapped from this road and sold.
She rides anyway.
Her choice speaks life and her bravery speaks hope and possibility to the rest of us. Life is inspiring and the hope of life so intangible—yet so real. We need life. We need to see people refusing to give in to threats and fears and the possibility of death.
We need brave people.
I inspect my own life, trying to find glimpses of bravery, but none compare to that young girl.
Around the world stories of determination against the odds rise up and call us to attention. That kind of bravery is rare and, at first glance, our lives seem to be insulated from it.
I search my life and remember sermons that challenge me:“How are you living so that you have to depend on God?” I search and I come up mostly empty. What darkness surrounds me so that I have to be brave and choose life? Where do I fear? Where do I need to trust?
If you want to step into the darkness of our world, read the news. So that’s what I did.