Determination

My beloved Soul Shelter friends,

I read a book called “Damsel” yesterday, and thought of you, and of all that you have suffered - and may still be suffering. The heroine in the story is caught in a terrible web of betrayal and must fight for her life in a dragon’s lair. She is a good-hearted, smart, brave, tough, creative leader, and above all, very determined to live, facing off with a dragon who is equally determined to eat her.

It is her determination to live that I am praying for you tonight. And not a nice tidy intellectual determination - but a gut-level, street-fighting determination, where your anger and will to survive can be a positive resource of strength. Maybe your anger has been derided or laughed at or it’s made things worse. (If so, I am sad with you. That’s so crippling. It took me a really long time to be able to get angry, so no judgement here.)

Let’s redeem your anger to its rightful place: First of all, anger is completely normal. Second of all, anger is a big red flag that something is wrong, that something is happening that should not be happening, that you, beloved child of the Most High God, are being hurt. Now I’m not saying to go ballistic. That is rarely constructive. Instead, harness the anger and let it give you the energy to stand tall when you feel your knees giving way. To look your dragon in the eye, take a deep breath and not cower or look away.

Let the anger also be a giant billboard notice that (your choice of expletive goes here), you intend to LIVE. You are not fighting against - you are fighting FOR. For your beautiful, beloved self to be able to live, to love, to flourish. To see the sky and breathe free. To be unafraid. To have no doubt that you are worthy of love and respect. You are totally worth the fight, my fearfully and wonderfully made friend. The dragon would have you think otherwise. Do not be fooled.

Scrawled on the walls of a cave in this story, our heroine also discovers that there have been others in the same predicament she now finds herself in. In the arc of history, she is not alone. She draws strength from the sisterhood, and the information that was left so the ones who came after might have a better chance of surviving and finding their way to life. My hope is that this blog can be a small part of that for you.

I am really glad you’re here. Please know you are not alone.

Stay brave,

Wendy