SENTINEL WATCH August 21, 2006 Issue

THE CALEB SPIRIT AND THE COURAGE OF EVERYDAY LIFE

RUTH WALKER

AS A JOURNALIST I've met many people who are, shall we say, not wimps. Soldiers willing to put their lives on the line for their country or enlisting to preserve peace in a place they'd never heard of before. Diplomats who go unarmed into situations where the shooting may not have stopped. Fellow journalists who so often demonstrate both the physical courage needed in dangerous circumstances and the moral courage to ask tough questions of powerful people.

Such people are good at what they do, not just in a professional sense but in the more profound sense of fulfilling a larger life-mission, to the benefit of all. They remind me of something I once read about a particular firefighter that made him good at what he did: "He goes where the fire is." These people go to the heart of what needs doing, and do it.

Over the years, one of my prayers has been to ask God for opportunities to express courage. One time in 1996 I prayed about whether to accept an assignment in Bosnia. Although the shooting has mostly stopped, conditions were nevertheless potentially dangerous. This verse from a hymn helped me make my decision: