Blessings of acceptance for the pains of vulnerability

EXCHANGES are made all throughout life, and this rule is no exception. Through courage the vulnerable journey forward along the road to acceptance. Their faith sees them all the way there.

But vulnerability causes pain. Exposing our truest selves requires spiritual surrender on par with the ultimate trust — that is to trust God fully in a broken, scary world.

It can seem an impossible thing to conjure in our minds let alone do.

It is easier to do when we understand how it works.

The model above imagines, at the bottom-left corner, that there is no sense of trust. We perhaps do not start there, so we’re along that line until we reach the point of vulnerability. We know we’re there when we know we’re trusting, and that trust costs us. It requires of us, courage.

The wonderful thing regarding the currency of courage, however, is the cost is gain. As we apply our courage, we’re given increased and improved capacity to trust. Courage trusts.

Beyond the point of feeling safely vulnerable (which can sound like a contradiction), less courage is required of us, but more faith. Tenacity, perseverance and resilience become of more value, at this point, than the pure courage of risk in anxious circumstances.

Again, the wonderful thing about faith as a currency is the longer-term gains we receive for our sacrifice of the familiar. Trust now takes the proportions of acceptance, which can seem like a dizzy reality that simply doesn’t concern us. We accept the mystery, the dichotomy, the enigma now ever before us without question. Indeed, we have learned to let go, and to question again would be to backslide. Purity of acceptance is to not linger over a single tempting thought.

Acceptance in the reality of life is a Kingdom-of-God gift advanced to us for living faithfully.