Melissa Roysdon
Pastor, Providence Baptist Church, Cookeville, TN
"Each one helps the other, saying to one another, 'Take courage!'”
– Isaiah 41:6
On December 26, 2023, everything in my world changed. That night I answered the phone, believing it was my husband, but I heard this strange voice saying, “Melissa this is…and I have Tony’s phone. I think he may have had a stroke…” I was only able to process some of what I was hearing, but at some point, I realized I would be meeting a helicopter at Vanderbilt Hospital and that I had heard my husband in the background telling an EMT what his name was.
The next few days were filled with prayers of gratitude and pleas for wisdom and healing. He had suffered damage, but nothing like I had feared. We were optimistic that with therapy and time he would recover. When we came home, I was so filled with joy that sometimes he thought I didn’t notice how much he was struggling with tasks that were once simple. He was grateful, but not ready to be joyful. During this time of struggle, I reached for my copy of John O’Donohue’s book of blessings. Each night I would read, “For Courage” as we settled into bed and before each of us offered our own prayers for courage, wisdom and healing.
While there were days when the strange new reality seemed overwhelming, through it all we found strength together. Today, he still struggles with not being the same, but we both know how blessed we have been and that we are stronger for having gone through this together, trusting God to hold us when holding on was all we could do.
For Courage
By John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,
When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,
When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world.
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,
Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes,
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.
Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.
Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.
A new confidence will come alive
To urge you towards higher ground
Where your imagination
will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!
Pray...Give...Go.