god hunting, part 2: bouncing back

God has been impressing a word on my heart since the pandemic began, and that word is RESILIENCE.  What is RESILIENCE?  What is necessary for RESILIENCE?  And how do we develop true spiritual RESILIENCE?

First a definition:  RESILIENCE is the capacity to recover from life’s difficulties.  Psychologists define RESILIENCE as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, threats or significant sources of stress.  It involves evaluating the stressors, not ignoring or denying them but coming up with helpful strategies for coping and thriving.  Some individuals have RESILIENCE as an innate personality trait.  Some fake RESILIENCE with bravado.  But real RESILIENCE can be learned and developed.

What is required for RESILIENCE?  It might surprise you, but the one thing that is absolutely required for RESILIENCE is trouble.  You have no need to bounce back if life hasn’t knocked you down.  And everyone will get knocked down.  All people will experience twists, turns and traumatic events over the course of their lives.  Family and relationship problems, the death of a loved one, serious health problems, occupational or financial stress:  one or all of these are bound to come into your life at one time or another.  At this moment you may be feeling like ALL of them are hitting you at once.  But while these adverse events, much like falling off a bike, are certainly painful and difficult, they don’t have to overwhelm us or be the narrative of our lives. 

Think of it this way:  what story do you want to come out of the year 2020 telling to your children and your grandchildren (presuming that you are being careful enough to survive)?  The greatest generation (my parents) told us the story of enduring the rationing and terrors of World War II.  Their parents (my grandparents) told us the story of surviving the deprivations of the Great Depression. 

Writer Frederick Buechner famously said, “Listen to your life.  See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.  In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness…because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”

So how do we develop RESILIENCE…how do we make our life-stories truthful celebrations of REAL RESILIENCE, not pretension or false RESILIENCE?  One way that I have acquired RESILIENCE is the God Hunt.  More on that next week.

Love, Liz