To be vulnerable in my words: unveiling the fullness of who you are, willingly yielding yourself to the reaction of another. I have found one of the most difficult places to dwell is the land of vulnerability. Yet, the most precious of intimate moments are birthed when someone feels safe enough to reveal the good, bad and ugly of what their lives may reveal. Truth be told, most of us long for meaningful friendships and relationships but the fear of judgment, rejection or abandonment many times outweighs the risk of letting go and make true connection with others. Many people spend their entire lives building shallow friendships/relationships that never provide a place of true connection because we’ve not allowed ourselves to be vulnerable.
In a recent conversation with a dear friend, I realized that our conversations no longer consisted of the normal “catch up sessions” or even deep theological discussions we had previously shared. Our friendship became a place of safety where being unguarded was not only okay but respected and handled with care. I am a very visual person…I tend to think in “word pictures”. As I was thinking on the concept of vulnerability, I thought about a gymnast. If you are anything like me, you were glued to the television during the Olympics this past year! I watched in complete awe as our U.S. girl’s team stretched their abilities to the max! They had conditioned and prepared their bodies in such a way that would allow them to perform unbelievable feats of physical strength, control and agility. The acts performed if slightly off from what they had learned in training could result in serious injury. Yet they abandoned their fears and relied on the strength they had achieved in training. The acts performed put them in the most vulnerable of positions yet their strength sustained them! If we as women are going to accomplish greatness, we must learn to gain strength from those on our “team”. This strength can only be found when we have the right ones on our team and we lay aside the fear of falling and being hurt or rejected.
Abandon yourself to fear and go for the gold! What a blessing when you have found those you can trust your heart with! What an even greater blessing when you are the one that can be trusted! Ladies should always show kindness to all, be friendly to all. But as ladies who are also wise women, we discern whom we are to have close to us and whom we share our hearts with. While the Bible teaches us to guard our hearts, there is also an art in knowing how to let our guards down and with whom. Take a look at those closest to you, are they receiving the best of who you are and are you in turn handling with care the best of what they offer you?
