I woke up this morning thinking about bravery and what it means to be brave.  On the 60th birthday of Ruby Bridges the little 6 year old girl who desegregated schools in the south, it was a natural theme.  I thought about the steeling of the self that little girl would have possibly done to shield herself from what she would face that day.  Actually knowing that others did not want you there and would make it obviously known.  The photo of her small body flanked by 6 foot men wearing arm bands said it all.  What posessed Ruby and her parents to put her on the front line?    It is my guess that most parents would not have been so generous with the safety of their child.  The Bridges were different and saw Ruby as a change agent.  Sometimes it is necessary for us to give up our safety and comfort to risk for something better.  Of course they were afraid but I think deep inside they knew that something better would come out of it all.  Who better to do it than an innocent 6 year old child?   When someone calls us brave many of us may not see ourselves that way.  We feel the butterflies in the stomach and the heart palpitations but like 6 year old Ruby, we steel ourselves and keep going.   We have faith there is something better on the other side.