Emotional Endurance, Principle Four: Courage to Change
I have had the gift of gleaning from Leslie’s book club this summer, reading through her first draft of her book last year as she submitted it to her publisher, and hearing her heart for encouraging others at her Arete retreat.
She is an enthusiastic and encouraging women, who is sharing her heart and wisdom in Emotional Endurance : Faith Fueled Skills for Bouncing Back, her new book that releases this Tuesday, July 28th. You can preorder on Amazon or your favorite book retailer.
As I have reread the book this summer in tandem with the study guide, it has been a sweet time to reflect on life and how different aspects of Emotional Endurance play out in my life.
The book broken up into six core principles. She details reflections and exercises to defining the why, how to break through set backs, and become resilient, where to find margin and rest, along with persevering and more.
With her book launch just two days away, I will be sharing daily reflections based on a Reflect + Connect question from each of the principles in her book till it releases.
We don't build our emotional endurance in seasons of comfort. As we lean into our discomfort, we can access more courage and break down the lies and limiting beliefs in order to build back up again. Leslie Bosserman, Emotional Endurance p. 111
What does courage look and feel like to you?
Death loomed over each thought, each step, each breath. It felt tangible, waiting for an opportune time to encompass me. Spiritual warfare was palpable. Fighting the good fight meant fixing my eyes on Jesus alone. Come what may.
I was ready. My faith and hope firmly rooted in the hope of Jesus in a way I had never experienced. Should death come, God still was good and had a plan for His purpose and glory.
Coherent thoughts bubbled to the surface, while a tornado of chaos raged in my mind. With the ability to use technology again in small chunks, a photo of a letter board popped onto my screen. The phrase “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” filled the display.
Tomorrow was not something I took for granted. With thoughts of death pounding in my head, tomorrow may not come but this short phrase engulfed me with hope. Hope for tomorrow.
Watching plants grow has a tendency to do that to me.
That spring we had grown corn, kale and greens in a two by eight garden bed. After reading the phrase in the fall, I ordered two four by four boxes. My head swirled unsteadily as I moved the pile of pea gravel filling our yard with my five year old son but I continued to shovel and scoop, choosing to believe in life over death despite the heaviness and pain that pulsed throughout my body.
I could not calculate the amount of soil needed to fill them completely with my state of mind but it did not matter. It was not picturesque in the slightest but it emanated hope, pointing me towards a new perspective, courage to believe in life. Courage to believe things would get better. Courage to believe my marriage would be okay. Courage to believe my family would be intact.
We filled the beds and a few pots with tulips and daffodil tubers. Each day I stepped outside, watching the soil. Waiting. Believing. Eventually green leaves popped out of the soil, pointing towards heaven, a physical marker I was still alive. I made it another day.
Slowly but surely my mind and body healed over the course of months. Yellow made its way through the green, giving way to petals, ushering life and beauty into a pile of soil and rocks.
Courage is doing hard things and trusting God. It takes action and effort and tends to feel unnatural. Sometimes it means moving soil and building garden beds. Planting seeds and waiting.
Praying courage would drive you to live life to the fullest in this season and you would see glimpses of the goodness of God when it is easier to walk away than push through. Pray you would see the continued growth that happens as you continue to choose to do hard things and persevere.
