Resilience and Trust




“Resilience is the secular word for faith, the ability to trust and let go.”  Richard Rohr

I think of resilience as the courage to keep going no matter what happens. So as aging creeps into my body, I am determined to still do all the things that are important to me, like writing, praying with the community, reading good books, conversing with friends, doing physical therapy, enjoying movies, and keeping up on the news. Some are challenging as my energy wanes and my body aches, but I keep pushing myself to continue being as active as possible as long as I can.

When I am afraid of becoming seriously ill or getting dementia, I have to dig deep for that trust that God will provide whatever I need. That’s not easy because I think we always want to be in control, to take care of ourselves. But when we can’t, we have to believe that God will send others to care for us.

 I have wonderful role models of resilience in my care home. These women are strong and faithful and hope-filled. They pray together, play cards, do puzzles, read, watch sports, visit friends, and take art classes. They are patient when they have to wait and cheerful when things don’t go right. Of course, this is not everyone. Some who are in their 90’s are ready to let go.

I think most parents have lots of resilience. They might see their children make bad choices or fail to achieve, yet they do the best they can and then trust that God will provide what is necessary. I’m sure that’s difficult to do because the tendency is to take over or try to control what happens, but parents need to trust and let go.

We need to pray for resilience, for the ability to trust that God will give us the strength to do what is necessary not only to survive but to thrive. We just have to hang on tight and know deep down that God will not let go.

Barbara Mayer, OSB

 

 

 

 

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