Resiliency: Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 CEB

During the beginning process of my integrative paper, my classmates and I were asked to speak to our most important values. The three that I named to complete the assignment included authenticity, resiliency and humility.

The one that I want to speak about today is resiliency. I have understood resiliency to be the capacity of individuals and communities to withstand, respond to, recover from and/or adapt to disruptive events.

In both my personal life as well as my clinical work, I am often reminded that no one guaranteed that life would be easy. Many times, I am at a loss for words... mostly because there are none. There is nothing that is appropriate to comfort a mother that has delivered a still birth. In instances of tragedy and trauma, words fail. However, because these cases happen so often, it is necessary for the pastor to be prepared to provide care. Henri Nouwen believes that all pastoral leadership should be rooted in an intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus. It is in Jesus' life and ministry where we find a source for words, advice and guidance (Nouwen, 45). Scripture tells us that Jesus wept, prayed and comforted. As a pastor, I do each of these things on a daily basis both for myself and for others.

In my line of work, I am often asking, "What nourishes your soul?" Or, "What brings you hope?" Hearing folks respond to these questions, despite facing a terminal illness or life changing event, humbles my spirit. Hope is the definition of humanity's resiliency in the face of both physical and social sickness.

Resiliency is giving everything you got, putting it all on the line, losing it and waking up the next day. It's recognizing that life isn't easy. For most of us, there are no quick fixes or easy answers. Sometimes, we find ourselves needing to make a difficult decision between two option, both of which suck. But, we do it.

Nouwen writes that the leadership of a pastor is "not a leadership of power and control, but a leadership of powerlessness and humility in which the suffering servant of God, Jesus Christ, is made manifest" (Nouwen, 82). Part of our powerless, humble leadership is the recognition that we cannot care for our communities alone. Our relationship with the Divine, provides for us the framework for this leadership. It is in this relationship that we store our hope and find our faith --- even when things are pretty shitty.

In the Grip of God's Grace, 

Pastor Anitta +♡

Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections On Christian Leadership