What does "being strong" mean to you? Being strong is complex. I think it’s multifaceted. Humility takes strength, right? …but so does confidence? It takes determination but sometimes also the wisdom to acknowledge when it’s all about to break, when health and well-being are at stake. In my experience, being strong is drawing upon the necessary facets of life in order to continue holding on… sometimes that’s with a tight grip and all the muscle… sometimes it’s a precarious hold by a single finger, preserving that rope that is life. Avoiding the ultimate break. But we use the interwoven chords of faith, relationships, identity, experience, outlook, honesty… to build a rope of life that hold us up in different capacities throughout the challenges and hardships of life. …and sometimes when we do break, it’s an interwoven chord from our relationships (with other humans, or the supernatural.. in my experience, God) that keep us from falling.
How does family shape your perception of strength? My family has shaped my perception of strength in many positive ways. Determination, grit, humility, resilience… those were all modeled for me throughout my upbringing and to this day. Along the way, I had to learn the other side of strength… empathy, gentleness, kindness. Strength isn’t always brute force. If we tug at the rope or fail to recognize where it’s hurting, it’s going to break. While strong certainly requires toughness, I have experienced that there is a gentleness to strength as well.
How does your culture shape your perception of strength? Wow… this one hits home right now. I’m choosing to be a full-time stay at home mom, and I feel the temptation to believe the cultural lie that I am not enough. That recognition, financial success, knowledge, experience, titles, and degrees are what defines me… that they’re what’s strong. … that anything else is “less than”. I am having to renew my mind by the minute that I am not defined by what I do. My identity is rooted in who I being to and out of that, strength arises. Motherhood certainly is a test of strength. Not winning the approval or accolades of others doesn’t make me weak. In fact, some of the strongest humans are the ones in the shadows or behind the scenes. They have to look inward and upward to keep on keeping on.
What keeps you strong in times of trial? In times of trial, my faith in Jesus of Nazareth is what keeps me strong. It is this worldview that helps me make sense of hardship and struggle and provides purpose that drives me when I feel like I cannot withstand any longer.
How have your trials made you stronger? When we were in our early 20’s, my husband and I felt called to foster care. When we were 23, we started getting our first “placements”… kids who needed care. We formed relationships with each of those kiddos and some of the biggest trials in my life occurred when we had to say goodbye (or some extent of goodbye) to some of those kiddos. The soul wrenching grief, misunderstanding, isolation, and brokenness catalyzed by those trials made me stronger because I was forced to feel my own feelings and validate my own difficult circumstances despite what others around me thought or had to say. I had to pare down my life to the only thing that mattered, which was my faith, in order to choose to get up each day. As I look back on that season, I realize just how strong I had to be.
Drew’s Intentional Act of Kindness
How did you use the $100? I was able to gift the $100 to a high school graduate who is heading to do YWAM this fall. I took the time to be sensitive to where this money might make a significant impact, and a couple of weeks in, it just became clear that this amount would be helpful toward their fund raising. It was a trusted individual who we had an existing relationship with!
What was the 'Intentional Act of Kindness' process like for you? It was fun to have money already set aside for this purpose. 1. There wasn’t a financial barrier to generosity as this money was already labeled for a specific purpose. 2. It made me more aware and sensitive to others needs and stories and where I may be prompted to give.