by Donna Gibbs
Some of you heard about last fall’s book release, Becoming Resilient. You may wonder what it’s all about. What resilience even means. So I’m going to sum up resilience, and the book, Becoming Resilient, in one image: a bouncy ball. I’m simple minded. I grasp concepts with images like these. And when we’re suffering, we all tend to be a little more concrete in our thinking, so hopefully this will be helpful to you as well.
Here goes…. An excerpt from Becoming Resilient that will put a dose of encouragement in your life today!
When I hear the word resilience, I immediately think of a bouncy ball. I knowthat’s not a very sophisticated image, but hear me out. When you throw a bouncy ball onto the floor, it bounces back higher than its starting point. When the ball first hits the floor, it is compressed and changes slightly in shape. Then it springs forward with power and restores its shape. The harder you throw it down, the higher it bounces in reaction. The resilience of the ball defies gravity.
Can it be so with our hurts in life as well? Is it possible for our tragedies to propel us to bounce back? Could we ultimately spring back in better shape than we were before we were slammed to the ground? Absolutely! And I’ve seen evidence of this resilience thousands of times within the quiet walls of my office. Friend, you too can bounce back. I know you can, because I know the God who can lead you to resilience!
Of course, God works according to His timeline, not ours. He is a process-oriented healer, walking us through our hurts and our healing rather than around them or away from them. Will you trust Him to begin taking you through your pain? It’stime to bounce back. Give yourself the privilege of that opportunity. Just becauseyou’ve been stuck doesn’t mean you have to stay there.
Your hurts do not have to define you or dictate your future. Maybe your hurt occurred years ago, but you’ve lived with the residual effects for much of your life. You don’t have to wait for eternity to find healing. Restoration can begin today, starting now. When we are stuck in our sufferings, we cannot move beyond survival mode. We don’t have the chance to fully live our lives. But it is time now to live! To thrive! To heal! It is time to take our lives back. Perhaps God has led you to this book for this very reason. He desires for you to bounce back from the hurt that has been robbing you and shrinking your world. Indeed, He has good plans for you (see Jer. 29:11). He desires to use your suffering to create something amazing. To benefit you. To propel you to even greater heights. Because He loves you, he wants to strengthen your resilience. Like the incredible transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly, he desires to use your hurts to create something beautiful in you.
You do not need to fear suffering. You can abide in the One who promises the strength to endure. If you’ve been thrown to the ground, get ready to stand. Get ready to rise above your pain. Your suffering doesn’t have to cripple you anymore! In fact, it can propel you to the heights of joy and purpose.
I hope you have already started your healing voyage, and I cannot wait to hear your story of resilience. You are becoming a hero in suffering. And Lord knows we could sure use some more heroes.
Your homework assignment? Go find a bouncy ball. Take it outside into a parking lot, and throw it down onto the pavement with the same amount of power you feel your trial has thrown you down. And then watch what happens to that bouncy ball. Be refreshed with the comfort that God can also defy gravity in your life, allowing you too to bounce forward from your hurts! He can propel you to rise above your pain!
For an encouraging video from Donna regarding this blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iETmYOH4Hqc&t=10s
