Reading what I used to write

I used to write. Back in the days before marriage and kids, when I had time, when it was my job, when the Teacher/Catechist Me had lots of wisdom to share with parents. Recently I decided to read what I wrote back then. And I found that at least some of it has some wisdom for the Mama/Wife/Primary Catechist Me. Here is one that I read recently (wrote not so recently) and took some encouragement from. Maybe you will too.

THE LITTLE HERO OF HOLLAND

What is it that moves a young boy to endure cold, exhaustion, fear and many other physical trials so that water will not leak from a dike? This is the question at the heart of the well-known tale of the small boy in Holland who spent the night with his finger plugging the hole in the dike that holds the angry waters of the North Sea from flooding the land. What could move a young boy to endure hardship and peril beyond the capacity of most men? It isn’t difficult to imagine his situation: he is cold and sleepy; it is nighttime; he knows his mother is worrying, and probably angry; his hand hurts; he is hungry (most of us would have been whining a long time ago!). But the boy remains steadfast.

It is helpful to examine what the boy knows about these dikes. Every child in his town would have known that even the smallest hole in the dike has the potential to grow to a large hole in a short time. And, they would feel with every fiber of their being the danger of a large hole in the dike---a devastating flood. It is only the dike that holds the angry sea back from their homes and families. Perhaps the boy pictured his family, sleeping soundly in their home, unsuspecting of the danger at hand. Or maybe he pictured his friends joyfully playing in the fields when suddenly a wall of water descends upon them. Whatever went through his mind, it must have been true knowledge of impending danger and love of others that motivated him.

But the question still remains, what would have given him the strength to stay awake, to push himself beyond his natural limits in order to save the city. As I said above, many grown men would have given in sooner. Perseverance is the virtue which disposes a person to hold fast to a good purpose, keeping the end always in mind, despite even grave difficulties. This virtue takes time and effort to develop and perhaps this boy had acquired it in his short life. But, it seems more likely that he exercised the virtue with some divine assistance. Perhaps it was the gift of the Holy Spirit called fortitude that allowed him to remain firm in his good purpose, despite the dangers and discomforts.

The gift of fortitude is the divine assistance which moves us to live virtuously even in the face of temptation, danger, and any other manner of difficulty. It gives us a spiritual desire for virtuous deeds and ultimately for heaven. This gift corresponds to the fourth beatitude: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice. (Mt. 5:6)

I am sure many of you feel like the boy with his finger in the dike when you must endure many difficulties to provide the best environment for your children: financial burdens; exhaustion brought on by lack of sleep and constant vigilance in protecting them from outside influences, etc. What is it that moves you to get up in the morning, to change another diaper, to hold your anger in check, to work so hard to form your children? It is the gift of fortitude given to you in Baptism! Rely upon it and ask for it to be strengthened.