Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
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Sitting in coffee shops, around the lunch tables and waiting in lines, it’s easy to see how many of us are feeling extremely vulnerable right now. In a season that often softens us toward others as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are suddenly finding the need to isolate and fortify our hearts to protect them from the pain that is all around us. The unanswered “why” rings louder than any Christmas bell. And without that answer, a way to make sense of this, fear and mistrust can creep in to the void.
I mentioned a radio program I heard a while back in a previous post and the research of Brenè Brown. The second part of her research was on the topic of vulnerability. She speaks very candidly about her dislike of the very idea of being vulnerable but how important it is. In her research, she found people who were happy and healthy, people she describes as living “whole-hearted” knowingly and willingly allowed themselves to be vulnerable.
They loved when there was no guarantee of having that love returned. They helped when that help could be refused, taken advantage of or worse had some great cost to the giver. They trusted their hearts to lead them into right action. But in spite of getting hurt, these folks were happier and healthier than those who worked hard to prevent feeling vulnerable or emotional pain. Because those who knowingly engaged vulnerability didn’t prevent and numb the pain of life, they could also fully embrace all the love and joy of life, experiencing it fully and deeply. And in turn it allowed them to see love in others, even those hiding in indifference or apathy.
I can remember the first time I heard someone speak to the ministry of brokenness. I was attending a spiritual retreat on wrestling with the disillusionment of your chosen religion – that time when your faith had not been able to help you, some call it the dark night of the soul. I, like Dr. Brown, rejected the notion of being vulnerable. But as the speaker shared with us, it is often in the brokenness that others can recognize they are healers. In the brokeness others can see that new things can be created, even from the pain. Some can see a mosaic where once there was only a single piece.
I hope you don’t think I’m looking for a neat package that explains the “why” of the recent tragedy, like God is teaching us a lesson. I don’t believe that and I still have no answer. I doubt I will ever know the “why”. But for me, if I am going to try to live peace and be love as the foundation of doing justice, then I hope I have the courage to be vulnerable, especially now. Maybe a generation of healers can emerge from this, maybe a beautiful mosaic is being created. Of that, I do not know. I do know that I’m grateful I am being held; I don’t have to be afraid. And most of all that I am not alone.
On the path,
Anna
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
