A Measure of Courage

 
 

According to social work professor and researcher Brene Brown, feeling vulnerable is that counter-cultural moment when we are at risk and uncertain: "We've found that across cultures, most of us were raised to believe that being vulnerable is weak," Brown writes in Atlas of the Heart. "This sets up an unresolvable tension for most of us, because we were also raised to be brave."

But vulnerability and courage are not in conflict, Brown argues: "In a world where perfectionism, pleasing, and proving are used as armor to protect our egos and our feelings, it takes a lot of courage to show up and be all in when we can't control the outcome. ... Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage."

In her research, Brown has asked tens of thousands of people to give examples of vulnerability in their own lives. Here are a few of the answers:

  • getting back up to bat after striking out

  • apologizing to a colleague about how I spoke to her

  • talking about race with my team

  • starting my own business

  • watching my child leave for college

  • talking about my feelings

  • waiting for the doctor to call back

  • giving and getting feedback

  • trying to get pregnant after two miscarriages 

  • sending my son to orchestra practice knowing how badly he wants to make first chair and knowing there's a really good chance he will not make the orchestra at all

What are moments of vulnerability in your life? And when you experience vulnerability, do you feel weak? Or do you remind yourself that courage requires a willingness to lean into uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure?

When Paul talks about the thorn in his side in his second letter to the church in Corinth, he acknowledges the power of vulnerability: "I pleaded with the Lord to take [the thorn] away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Are you bold enough to embrace the vulnerable moments this week, allowing yourself to be weak so that He might make you strong?

Peace on your week,

Jennie

Rev. Dr. Jennie A. Harrop