What does "being strong" mean to you? In the corporate environment in which I work, being a strong female often means having power. They think they have to prove they are strong by lording their power over others, by not backing down, by being cruel. After years of working under women like this, strength has taken on a different meaning to me. Now, being strong means knowing who I am and having a very clear picture of my own strengths and weaknesses. I have seen that when I have confidence in myself, there is no need to prove my strength by making others feel small. Instead, this quiet confidence and complete realness inspires others to feel comfortable just as they are, and in turn, have confidence and strength of their own.
How did/does family shape your perception of strength? My family is very in touch with their emotions. It wasn't until I started dating my fiancé and I saw how differently his family interacted, that I fully realized just how emotionally driven my family is. We never yelled or even raised our voices to each other. We were taught to be incredibly sensitive to the feelings of everyone around us, sometimes to our own detriment. Because of this, I see strength as a quiet trait. Where others might view strength as a loud and in-your-face quality, the people I think of as being the most strong are those that affect others in their quietness. My mother, for example, is the kindest, wisest, and sweetest woman you will ever meet. Her strength is found in the way that she raised a wonderful family without having a good example to follow, while working full time. My father is so tender-hearted and silly. His strength is found in the way that he worked two jobs almost his entire life to provide for us. Neither of these things are loud or noticeable. My parents didn't become CEOs when they were young, or strike it rich in the stock market, or run for political office. But the quiet way in which they have lived their ordinary lives day after day after day and put others first, makes them so strong. This is the kind of strong I want to be.
Anna’s Intentional Act of Kindness
How did you use the $100? When I first found out that I would be responsible for giving away $100, I just knew that I wanted to bless the un-housed community with it. Homelessness is a huge issue for Seattle right now, so I had every intention of carrying the cash around with me until I came across someone experiencing homelessness and could buy them groceries or takeout from a restaurant. The day I finally had plans to leave my house, I remembered to grab the cash and I prayed that God would put the right person or people in my path. I was in downtown Seattle all morning and never came across a single person! I was honestly shocked, but I continued to keep my eyes peeled as I went home to the suburbs to do my grocery shopping. I was in the checkout line at Costco when I happened to hear the checker tell the woman at the register that her card had been declined again and she was $xx short. For a moment, I felt panic and I wanted to stay in the safety of the line while I weighed the pros and cons of blessing her in particular. But then I realized that I had a very short window of time in which I could intervene, and so I bypassed the several other people in line and handed her all of the money. She was so touched and unsure if she should take it and I told her that I had been looking for someone to give that money to and I just knew that it was meant for her. In the end, it was more money than she needed, but I was happy that it would be able to do even more good for her, and that the next time she used the cash, she would think of this moment. I quickly and quietly went back to my place in line and she checked out and left. There was a moment where I wished that I could have said more to her or done more, but the moment was so quick, and I realized that maybe it was better that way, so nothing could muddy-up the purity of the gesture. But several minutes later, as I left the checkout lane, I saw that she was waiting for me with tears in her eyes. I went up to her, and in-spite of COVID concerns, I gave her a huge hug. She said, "You taught me something today." And I again told her that I had been waiting for the right person to give it to, and I just knew that it was her. She said, "you'll never know what this meant to me. Thank you so much." And I told her "God bless. Go do something great."
What was the ‘Intentional Act of Kindness’ process like for you? It caught me off guard that I had such a clear plan of what I thought I was supposed to do with the money, and then God made it so clear that he had other plans. I really had to fight the feeling of panic and fear that she would turn my help away. I live in a largely affluent suburb, and I was really worried that she would be offended and would turn down my help. I also had to shut myself down from overthinking to the point that I let the moment pass me by. I could have stopped to analyze her cart or what she wearing to deem if she or her purchases were worthy of the gift. But I am so, so glad that I pushed past the fears to follow through on what fell into my lap, because it was such an amazing feeling. The money was never mine, so I can't call it an act of generosity, but the act of being intentionally kind, in a rather big way, to a complete stranger, was so gratifying. I almost feel guilty for getting something out of it, but it certainly impacted me. I was as touched as she was by her kind response, and the fact that she waited for me so she could more personally thank me is something I will never forget. I felt a million feet tall when I left Costco that day, and I am determined to continue to look out for people every day who I can bless with intentional kindness, whether it's monetarily or not.