The Courage To Be

FRI., JUNE 24, 1983, 2:21 PM
SEATTLE, AIRPORT

You have just completed an important and satisfying adventure with these folks in the northwest. As usual, you found devout, committed Christians and others less orthodox but still spiritual with whom to interact. As you are more and more certain about and comfortable with your major mission as a person, who is both a functioning professional and a committed man-of-the-spirit you will find that virtually every encounter similar to this is one evidencing spirit. I shall continue to abet your own courage, o son, to be who you should be.

You discerned rather quickly this morning that the closing speaker is not the kind of presenter whom you should emulate. You cannot do what he does, and though you have some admiration for these skills and this sort of “being”, you judged that there was little you could learn from him. Instead you are here, looking at mountains and a cloud-filled sky, receiving a truly worthwhile bit of learning. You judged well.

Let Me remind you, however, that, as your Ruminations expounds, properly placed humor in your presentations is desirable. And because you are not a “natural humorist” you need to plan such moments. It just is that they must be, for you, gentle seasoning rather than the major focus of the presentation. Do not attempt to be someone you cannot be. Who you are is too valuable.

The Psalm was a worthy point for the devotional this morning. You are quite comfortable with your being as one who attends and participates in these times of overt spiritual expression, even as part of a small minority. You showed the courage to be both an affirmed born-again Christian, and one less committed as a means of relating to another seeking soul. These are both aspects of your being that you can acknowledge and communicate. Worry not whether they conflict. If they are “you” then each takes courage to show.

The Psalm suggested to you that courage and daring in relation to matters of the spirit are more given to you by Me than generated from within. This is basically true, and its only real danger is in encouraging actions lacking the courageous element because I have not obviously given you “the means”. The real situation is virtually always a combination, in which I strengthen and add to the courage you feel out of your own development. I seldom miraculously give obvious courage where none seemed to exist before. It is unlikely that I would empower you to rise on some public occasion and challenge a speaker because of his disregard of Me. Yet what you did and said during the past two days were evidences of increased courage over years before. You are not one of great spiritual/religious daring yet, but you are being true to yourself. And hence you will grow in courage… and the growth will be appropriate and pleasing.