Wheresoever You Go, Go with All Your Heart
Brene Brown...have you heard of her? I fell upon her in my TED Talk, binge-watching era. Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston as well as a lecturer, author, and storyteller. "The Power of Vulnerability" is engaging, unpacking six years of Brene's research on connection and worthiness.
After collecting vast amounts of data in the form of people's personal life stories she concluded that there was one variable that existed in the lives of people that felt a deep sense of belonging and worthiness: excruciating vulnerability. She sites that these few embraced the concept of "that which made them vulnerable, made them beautiful." This sweet fragment of souls believe that vulnerability is fundamental in their lives; the ones willing to say I love you first and live wholeheartedly without guarantees. They journey through life with courage and compassion. All this transparent truth is the birthplace of their joy, creativity, and happiness.
Go figure. It sometimes feels like terror to let yourself be seen, however running wholeheartedly into susceptibility is raw courage. This fits perfectly with one of my favorite bible verses.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
“…But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Our might is perfected within our very weakness. That is where the grace comes and where we reflect the salt and light to the outside world. Your vulnerable spot probably looks a lot like a ray of refreshing encouragement to someone else who needs it.