Courage in the Everyday

Yesterday my church went Christmas caroling, but not in the nicest neighborhood in town where we could revel in the professionally installed light displays, not even in the middle class area surrounding our building. We went caroling in a rather rundown trailer park where we deliver food for our food ministry. Okay, so we weren't quite roughing it in a third world country, but considering we're mostly a bunch of suburbanites, it got me thinking about the courage needed to reach out to others in our everyday lives.

One of our caroling groups

Going door to door, knocking on a stranger's trailer, in a neighborhood that's one of the rougher ones in town, takes a bit of courage, especially when you have a bevy of children in tow. By the end of the Christmas cookie fellowship following the caroling, our kids were all running around in the pitch dark. We didn't know if we'd face rejection, harassment, or drunken threats, but we went to spread Christmas joy and cheer nonetheless--to spread Christ's love. It would have been easy for someone to talk themselves out of going and facing all of those risks. But reaching out takes courage and inconvenience. Living life to its fullest involves taking risks.

These neighbors tagged along and joined in the fun.

And when God calls you to do something, those risks pay off! By the end of the caroling many neighbors had joined in with us to sing. We concluded the evening with a fellowship including a fire pit and Christmas cookies, and about 25 people from the neighborhood came to join us :)

The Christmas cookie fellowship was a big hit.

I'm sure it would have been safer and easier for the Good Samaritan to have left the beaten man on the side of the road, but God calls us to a higher standard. Will you dare to reach out and take risks? Will you find the courage to live life to the fullest?