What Wearing the Wrong Shoe Taught Me

Some thoughts on resilience

Hello Readers!

How is your summer unfolding? We’ve had a full house off and on since June, and it’s filling my heart with so much joy. Our kids have visited for days at a time, and so have extended family and friends. I think summer might be eclipsing autumn as my favorite season!

Have I mentioned that I began freelancing as a copywriter in the spring? As a writer, my heart will always be in the creative writing world, but I like learning the craft of copywriting. It’s given me insight into some new-to-me industries and has also given me the chance to exercise my skills in a new way. It’s been surprisingly fruitful work, and I’m grateful to have purposeful writing to carry me through the summer while I’m on break from the university.

It's good to grow and take on new challenges in this stage of life. I find that after so many years of staying at home with my kids, feeling competent in the world beyond parenting is increasingly important to me. The more skills I learn and the more exposure I have to new experiences, the more capable I feel.

I recently read an article on building resilience, and competence and confidence are two of the factors that help us become more resilient. Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back from negative experiences, such as stress, adversity, or trauma. Over the past few years, I found myself praying for God to help me be more resilient, until I realized I was essentially asking for more challenges to come my way. Resilience arrives by way of adversity, not by wishing it to arrive fully formed in all its glory.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and the importance of developing resilience as an adult in an increasingly challenging world. At a recent follow up appointment for my foot surgery, I wore a pair of strappy sandals that don’t rub against my incision to avoid irritating the wound. I explained my shoe choice to the doctor (who wants me wearing sneakers) and showed him the small amount of mobility I’ve gained back in my foot.

He was unimpressed.