emotional endurace, principle five: Energy to engage
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 experience natural pauses in our daily lives: inhaling a deep breath, typing a comma, taking a nap, stopping at a red light, turning off our devices, or closing our eyes to tune out the visual noise.
Our pauses become powerful proclamations that we are finite beings who require rest. In fact, we were intentionally designed with this very concept in mind. Our all-powerful Creator demonstrated the importance of rest after He made the universe, Earth, and all that inhabits it in six days. God paused and rested: "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing.... Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:1-3 NIV, emphasis added). Leslie Bosserman, Emotional Endurance, p. 142
If your life were a soundtrack, what tempo of music would be playing now?
I lack any musical inclination. I played the flute in fifth grade but did not have the motivation to practice or learn to read the notes and ended it.
Listening to music, however, is part of my DNA since I can remember. I have a soundtrack for most seasons of my life. I remember at six years old telling my cousin I had memorized a whole album of songs but he did not believe me until my mom affirmed my answer. Years ago, I highlighted songs weekly on this blog. You can find them here if you are curious.
Songs are composed of many different notes and keys that I know nothing about. However, I can spot a pause, notice the change in pitch or increase in tempo.
If my life were a soundtrack, the tempo of music would change daily.
Sure, summer would be slower in general, while fall winds up a bit as school starts and makes way for routines. Spring is upbeat and quick with school work and sports. Winter slows down again with bursts of quick cadence during celebrations and holidays.
My hopes for thousands of miles on the road this summer was dashed when Ricardo changed jobs for a better career opportunity. While I hoped to check off more states off our map, I knew resting was just what I needed this summer. More time to pause. More time to pray. More time to worship. More time to invite others into it with us.
This summers’ tempo would be a waltz. Waiting for seeds to sprout. Watering the garden early in the morning and checking on the seeds again in the warm afternoon. The ebbs and flow of cleaning and cooking and hosting. The steady time spent with friends and time out on the lake paddle boarding. Taking turns reading and listening to bed time stories. S’mores being enjoyed with friends and neighbors around the fire pit. Playing board games and watching the strategies behind each move. Listening to miscellaneous facts spouted throughout the day as books are devoured. Card tricks being learned and demonstrated. Camping and time outdoors. Harvesting and fermenting. The small moments that fill the soul.
With every passing year I embrace the pauses more. I used to try to fill them with activities and fun filled fluff but pausing has become a welcomed friend. Scheduling pauses on my calendar has become a gift.
Ricardo has taught me much about pauses as we have led small groups over the years. I have always admired the way he has been able to give others space to speak and the time to respond. While some may call it awkward silence, I have seen it become an open door to transformative conversations that would never have occurred had the space been rushed past..
I have worked on implementing this as I lead bible studies and spend time in conversations, seeing the time needed to process certain questions and topics. Something I am not as skilled as Ricardo. I am still a work in progress and thankful to God for showing me the importance and gift of rest and a good pause in life and conversations.
Praying that whatever your tempo is this season that you would find a way to pause and rest. Praying you would see the beauty in the slow and what most have deemed unproductive. May your phone be off and silenced, while what is in front of you plays a song that catches your attention in the sweetest of ways.