It takes courage

This week, I encountered one person with such moving story. Mujito, a Javanese from Lampung happened to tell about his determination of having to take his beloved wife to the hospital in the town from small village. That was going on for about 13 months under such pressures of all those around him, all tlling him to simply give up. But somehow, he recalled for me, "I was so determined, there is such faith inside me that my wife would be well."

I simply sighed in admiration for his brilliant character. He lives in a very remote area in Lampung, with a piece of land to till and some flocks to tend to. One unexpected occasion, his wife was paralyzed and got some kind of strange sickness. By using his scooter motorbike, he faithfully sought for the cure of his wife's illness. Needless to say, it took about 2 hours ride one way to the hospital in such bumpy roads. Once a while, he found out his wife already passed out behind him and he needed to stop to let his wife took the journey for herself.

Please remember, that was going on for 13 months in and out of hospital. All his family member who at first showed their support gave in at certain point. While his wife's family seeing all the expenses he needed to carry out, consider that he simply didn't have to 'waste' his resources. With all this spinning around his side, yet he decided to keep going!! And see, his wife is pretty healthy and strong by the time he told this story to me.

And that is love! Love is so persistent. It is gentle but so stubborn. Mujito loves his wife and that's why he didn't just give up in the first obstacle. He keeps going on no matter what. Until he sees something good happen to his wife. That his wife is cured, well and sound. Realizing that this is a real story told by real person shatters my soul. If a man can do such thing, then how our God is! He keeps loving us, curing and restoring us no matter what.

In the other side of coin, it speaks to me so clearly: be persistent in faith, be persistent in hope and ultimately, be persistent in love.  How many times cultures and all those around us fail us and brings us down? Remember this story, which is an icon of story of Christ. How many times people whom you love so dearly failed and betrayed your feeling somehow: remember this story. How many times you feel unintentional disgust of some persons or group, no matter how hard you try to suppress that thing? Love is persistent. Sometimes it is like 'blind, deaf, mute, foolish' to the world. But that what it is: loving and loving and loving.

How can we explain or elaborate this? It is mystery. It is God-driven. It is a gift of grace. The very desire to keep standing in love is grace. And his grace made perfect in our weaknesses, failures and awkwardness's. But lest we forget that we are here for that: to be the image --and here we are, image of God. What does that means? Before all else, to love all being just as God is love. Why then it's so hard? Because we are supposed to rely on His power and not on our own. Doesn't he say 'with God all things is possible' and 'Abide in me', 'Come to me'?

It takes courage to have faith to such invitation and to leave the world behind. It takes courage to leave behind our doubts and fears and to embrace faith in moving through hardship. It takes courage to be persistent and be stubborn in trusting God's love is sovereign over all. And you know, behind that courage is grace, sufficient to cover all possible weaknesses and failures we could ever tell. So, go in faith and look at every person sent to us with the eye of love.