Weakness

I was talking with a friend tonight who is a teacher. She's had a rough year and missed more school than normal as a result. The kids noticed and asked her about why she's be gone or late so often, and she told them that she's been having a hard time with family struggles and with her health. She expressed she feels bad for being less reliable of a teacher and not being there in class for her kids as much as she'd like.

There was a small turning in my mind. I thought of myself as a young kid dealing with a lot and how it might have helped for an adult to honestly share that they struggle with hard things and demonstrate that it's ok to feel that struggle; to model that taking care of yourself is important. I thought how high the chances are that there is at least one child in that class that might actually be better served by seeing her working through and addressing the tough things in her life than they'd be served by my friend never missing a day of work.

It gave me hope that the actions, inactions, or patterns we see as our biggest failings might sometimes be exactly what another person needs to experience through interacting with us, and that those "weaknesses" may be the best things about us on occasion.

I've been thinking recently about the fact that our weaknesses might be gifts after all--gifts to keep us humble, to help us turn to and teach each other, gifts which propel us to grow.

If they are, loving myself becomes easier.

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You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously.

-uncredited