Great sacrifices

 

I grew up on fairy tales and myths and it is so stirring to read of the magnificent sacrifices made by brave people for great things.

But now I wonder, how did those people feel? Because they did not know for sure that those sacrifices would yield the wondrous things we read about in black and white, on paper. It had to be an act of faith of some sort that drove them.

The grinding ache in the pit of their stomach must have been almost unbearable at times. The knowledge that their actions could end their life must have been agonizing. 

How did they pursue the goal knowing the real consequences that could follow their actions? Because I am pretty sure there are a million other stories that did not end as well. They seldom tell those. We want to hear the happily ever after tales, not the ones that end with the hero consumed by fire or torn apart by fate.

I've heard great things require great sacrifices, but I believe they also require great faith and incredible courage, and possibly a love greater than most of us will ever know.