Women of Welcome: Bold + Braveনমুনা

The stakes felt high when our country, America, faced 2020 with its disruptive and (too often) deadly pandemic, contentious elections, civil unrest, and more. In many cases, they were high. Everything felt big. And yet, in a sometimes awkward way, familiar life continued. Children practiced their multiplication tables. The buzzer on the dryer sounded while we answered work emails. We dropped birthday cards in the mailbox. History was happening both out there and very close, and it was heavy. Yet life continued on some form of autopilot, too. Sometimes our day-to-day life—our commitment to snuggles and salads, hopscotch and flashcards, laughter and tears—is a bold resistance to the darkness that threatens to overtake us.

When we meet Jochebed, the mother of Moses, she is pregnant in the midst of oppression. New life is a symbol of hope. It is a commitment to the future. Our hope depends not on our surroundings’ difficulties but God alone. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Hope in the midst of hardship requires courage.

Jochebed’s bravery is further evidenced in the uncertainty she endures during her pregnancy. Pharaoh declared all Hebrew boys to be murdered upon birth. Without ultrasound technology, I (Sarah) can only assume she spent months of her pregnancy not knowing whether the little one in her womb was a girl who would be given the chance to live or a boy condemned to death. Living in a state of uncertainty and the unknown requires deep, faithful, and bold resolve. It is no easy task. Jochebed, with a baby in her womb, offers us an example of this everyday bravery.