Tina Thrussell“He has the courage of a lion!” Have you ever heard anyone say that? This exclamation is usually stated with awe and admiration.
This morning when I was in the shower, I wondered, “Why does anyone think lions are courageous? Maybe I just don’t know enough about the life of a lion to judge wisely but it seems to me that if you walk about the Serengeti knowing that everyone is afraid of you, it doesn’t take much courage to walk about the Serengeti!”
Maybe people think lions are courageous because people see lions as fearless, but as Reverend Doug Craig said in his talk this past Sunday, “Courage is not about being fearless… courage is about taking action in spite of the fear.”
This brings to mind a fable about a lion who was limping about because he had a thorn stuck in his paw. A little mouse had been observing the lion and took pity on him. The mouse had the courage to scurry up to that lion and offer to pull the thorn out.
I saw that kind of courage in my own mother as we prepared for, and travelled about, Ireland. Her courage was illustrated from the very beginning when she declared, “I want to go to Ireland and I’m not getting any younger and I can’t travel on my own! I want you to come with me.”
What made her declaration so courageous? There were a few things to fear in making that declaration:
That I would laugh at her desire to travel to a country that she knew nothing about except that she wanted to go.
That I would say no and her lifelong dream would be dashed.
Facing the unknown. She had no idea what traveling to Ireland would be like. Yet with the courage of that little mouse in the fable, she approached me and asked if I would go with her. How could I do anything but say yes?
The most remarkable display of courage that I saw from my mom as we travelled about Ireland was when we got to Cahir Castle. (see photos below) This castle is one of the few that still stand fully intact in Ireland. So many of their castles have fallen into complete ruin. The Black Castle is a great example of that ruin. There is nothing left but a little pile of rocks on a Cliff. (see the photo below)
As we approached the castle and decided to explore, it seemed natural that the first place we would start is the tower. When we got to the base of the tower, we were faced with an incredibly steep set of stairs… a spiral staircase with short little steps that were intimidating to look at. Yet mom simply took a deep breath and started to climb.
When we got to the first floor of the tower, I thought to myself, “Oh this is where the journey ends!” because unlike stairs in our buildings today that end on the floor level, the castle stairs ended a full step below the doorway. There was no handrail; there was nothing to assist you. You simply had to step up off the staircase into the room. She barely paused and heaved herself up onto that first floor. I was so proud of her! I have to confess I froze when I got to that top step. It seemed pretty scary to me, and I’m 20 years younger than mom and a whole lot more physically active! If you missed hitting that step up right, it was a very long tumble down that spiral staircase!
I have always held great respect and love for my mom but I think it all got taken up a notch when I saw how – at the age of 81 – she handled the long hours of travelling, the incredible amount of walking (so far beyond what she does on a daily basis), and the hubbub and activity that surrounded us in the big cities. She came through it all and still managed to laugh at the end of every day.
This was a very special time we had together and I’m proud to say Mom has the courage of a mouse!
