This winter had been wild and windy in Sydney.

It was so windy, in fact, that my neighbour’s very old, huge, and well-established tree of many decades decided to gate crash my Mother’s Surprise 80th Birthday party. Ten minutes before 50 guests arrived, there was a mighty crash - the sound of this enormous tree uprooted, knocking down the neighbour’s garden shed and our entire side fence and covering the full expanse of our freshly manicured backyard.

Well, that’s exactly what we do. We breathe, and we change our garment of panic to a garment of joy and celebration.

Us women are really good at changing our clothes. And I am here to remind you amid your crazy circumstances, to keep an eye on your spiritual wardrobe.

But sometimes circumstances really do overwhelm us, and we need to remember to breathe and change what we are wearing amid the challenge.

This winter, despite my bone broths and warm coats, I have battled seven weeks of sickness. Apparently, this is not unusual in the Sydney winter of 2024. But when there are things to do, people to see, and places to go, the prolonged sickness began to infect me with prolonged discouragement.

And discouragement is not a garment that I like to wear.

So, from my bed, I picked up the Word of God and turned to Psalms.

To my delight, I stumbled across Psalm 31 in The Passion Translation and felt the whisper of the Holy Spirit:

And they were just the words that I needed from my Supernatural Stylist to take off discouragement and put on Courage.

Courage is not just for the Olympians (though they are full of it, and I am cheering them on) or soldiers in battle; it is also for the struggling, the downcast, the weary, and the brokenhearted.

In our moments of discouragement, God invites us to put on Courage.

I’ve always loved Psalm 42:4 in The Passion Translation:

It is counterintuitive to think of Courage as part of the remedy for heartache, but it most certainly is - it enables our hearts to go on and wait for the dawn of a new day.

So, this winter, or in the winter seasons of your journey (and yes - seasons are guaranteed), put on Courage.

It looks amazing on you, and will see you through til Summer.

Big love,