Alone

"Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength."

Theodore Roosevelt

One of my favorite shows this summer is History Channel's Alone.  

Men, ten of them, were dropped into isolated sections of Vancouver Island, Canada.  They were allowed ten items - but no gun.  Given the Black Bear, cougar, and wolves it was a concern for many of them.

Just in the first week, four men tapped out.  Unlike some other survival programs, these guys had to operate their own cameras.  They were alone.  Alone with their thoughts - over time being alone became a larger adversary than the wild critters outside the shelters.

In the show, the contestants had to make fire, keep fire, and find food.  It wasn't easy and sometimes meant they went without for several days.  Sleep deprivation, hunger, and the knawing fatigue brought on by solitude.  They had to find ways to go on after their strength was exhausted.

Leaving the television screen, but sticking with Theodore Roosevelt's observation there is meat to chew on.  We have days when our strength is gone or nearly so.  But hours and duties stretch before us not asking first if we have the energy for it.

You may not think it's possible.  One foot in front of the other.  Take another step.  Get one thing done, move to the next.  That is courage.

Maybe a battle with a horrible illness is draining your strength.  Or uncertainty at work.  Life's worries and concerns weigh us down.  We walk on.

Our strength is gone and we move ahead.  It's true for you.  It may feel like mile 25 in a marathon - hang in there, there's just 1.2 miles left.

Courage is around us.  You have it in you.  It's a gift - strength we get, maybe imperceptably, from God.

Be strong and courageous (in your way and in your battle) today.