Gutsy

“I bet he doesn’t have guts enough to do that again!” I exclaim under my breath as love bugs pepper the windshield and front end of my clean white car. I fail to see anything loveable about love bugs. Yes, it’s that time of year again when East Texas is plagued with those pesky flying black gutless double-dots.

Let’s talk about guts for a moment. It’s not a pleasant topic, but guts are imperative to life. We refer to our belly, stomach, or abdomen as our guts. Everyone has them, but what about gutsy? What does that word mean? It means having a great deal of courage or nerve (probably more nerve than courage in my case), robust and vigorous. So, in this life, we need our fair share of gutsiness if we plan to leave our mark.

Jesus was gutsy when He turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple (John 2:15). He was gutsy when He called out the scribes and Pharisees for what they were (Matthew 23:17). He was gutsy when He told Peter to get behind Him (Mark 8:33) and when he held children in His lap (Mark 9:36). Jesus lived His entire life on earth submitted and obedient to His Heavenly Father and the words of the prophets. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).

I recently joined the mentor team for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) and am excited about this opportunity. One of this year’s themes is the freedom to be gutsy. I love it! I’ve been gutsy a few times in my life: the first time I jumped off the high dive at Lake Tejas, when riding roller coasters, zipping along on a zip line, and flying to China all by myself. But the gutsiest thing I’ve ever done is write a book about my daughter’s life and death. That took more guts than I could muster, but God supplied what I needed to complete the task He gave me. He always does.

Here’s one caution before plunging into a gutsy endeavor: Be gutsy in obedience to Christ and not gutsy to stupidity. I’m no dare-devil; I contemplate excessively before I go gutsy. Sure we will make mistakes in our gutsiness, and that’s OK. We will learn from it and live gutsy again. I refuse to live opposite gutsy and be a doormat. It also helps to have an awesome husband who allows, tolerates, and encourages my gutsiness.

What are you thinking about doing that is gutsy? Peter said of Jesus, “You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). So read God’s Word and know what He says about it and then run with it. Live gutsy!