WQ - Unlikely Heroism

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I'm participating in the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write and our prompt this week is "unlikely". No, not unlikely that we have a prompt, but that is the prompt. It's always unlikely that I'll post Wednesday Quotes on Wednesday, and this week is no different. It's also unlikely that I'll finish this post within the time frame I set for myself, but I'm going to give it a shot and see how far I get. When I thought of the word, my mind immediately went to the phrase "unlikely hero" as a starting point.

It seems like the heroes are very often the ones that you might not expect. Maybe part of the reason is that heroism isn't necessarily being big and strong and loud, but is more about being right and compassionate and having the courage to take a stand. And sometimes the hero is someone who has the humility and curiosity to be paying attention and sees what others might miss.

Courage is found in unlikely places. ~J.R.R. Tolkien

But then there are magical, beautiful things in the world, and there's incredible acts of kindness and bravery and in the most unlikely places, and it gives you hope. ~Dave Matthews

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. ~Roald Dahl

Things that appear unlikely, impossible, or paradoxical from one point of view often make perfectly good sense from another. ~Hugh Nibley

I like that the heroes in the Bible are often quite unlikely characters. Who would have guessed that it would be a childless elderly couple that would begin the great nation of Israel?  That the deceptive younger son Jacob would be the one to carry that promise to the next generation? That the youngest and almost forgotten son of Jesse would become the great King David? That an unmarried peasant girl would be chosen as the mother of Jesus? Over and over, God chooses to partner with the unlikely folks to keep his promises. Like Gideon, who thought he had nothing going for him, but who became a hero.

Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!"

Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!"

"But LORD," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

Then the LORD said to him, "I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man."

~Judges 6:11-12, 14-16~

The lesson I just learned by following that thread of thought is that no matter how much the odds are stacked against you or how inadequate you feel for the task, if God goes with you and you are following his leading, he's the one that brings the victory and the success. Whatever that looks like.

Okay, as usual, we end with some humorous quotes!

Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely. ~P.J. O'Rourke

Figure skating is an unlikely Olympic event but it's good television. It's sort of a combination of gymnastics and ballet. A little sexy too which doesn't hurt. ~Andy Rooney

Here's some Olympic figure skating to an unlikely choice of music:

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #37: Unlikely

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