Perfect in Weakness

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Fake it till you make it. Never let them see you sweat. Smile through the pain. These phrases are thrown around constantly in society and we have subscribed to them… we never want anyone to see that we’re suffering. Sometimes it means pretending everything is ok when we know it isn’t. Other times it can mean sheltering or hiding things from the people we love to shield them from our discomfort. I absolutely hate it. I hate that we live in a world that has convinced us that people either (1) can’t handle our struggle or (2) will take advantage of it. That’s not a pleasant place to be. And it’s not real, especially when it comes to mental health.

There are so many stigmas around mental health. In the Black community. In the church. With men. These are areas that specifically speak to me and the struggle I see the people I love enduring in life. They want to hide their pain, hide their struggles, and make everything think everything is ok, or at the least that they can handle what’s being thrown at them. This is why you see me talking so heavily about my daily conquering of anxiety. Everyday I wake up with a battle in front of me and I choose how I’m going to go through that day and finish it. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but each day I get up and fight knowing it doesn’t have to be perfect to be true. So what does that mean for you? What does it mean when you’re trying to walk through life with so much Confidence but you’re stressed by what’s plaguing you in that same life and now you don’t know your up from your down? It means that with positive affirmations and a CHOICE to walk a little differently, you can conquer daily as well. How? Keep reading!

First, OWN YOUR STRUGGLE. Own that everything isn’t always ok, and that’s ok! Sometimes, everything is wrong. That’s just how life goes sometimes. But you can also own that it doesn’t have to stay bad, and your outlook on it definitely doesn’t have to stay bad. If you own what your struggle is, you can also own conquering it.

Second, LET PEOPLE SEE YOU. Stop hiding behind the mask of Confidence that your Stress is suffocating under. Take that mask off and let the world know that you’re human. It allows for a number of things to happen. It allows people to see how they should treat you, which could be night and day from how they’ve been treating you. Maybe, if they know you struggle with handling hard things they can be gentler with their approach in bringing you bad news. Maybe they won’t dump their bad stuff on you as much because now they know you have bad stuff, too. It can also allow people to be real with themselves about their own struggles. I love public speaking but have terrible stage fright. By being real about that with people, it gives them an example of what conquering things can look like. And it can most definitely allow you the freedom to breathe easier when dealing with your struggles, because you aren’t also juggling keeping it from everyone. Paul told the Corinthians “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 (Corinthians 12:9-10) He recognized that God could do so much more with the people if they could witness just how good He is at bringing others out.

And my final tip is ASK FOR HELP. None of us can do this alone so we need to stop trying to. Talk to your family, your friends, your spiritual advisor. Talk to a therapist, your primary care physician, a psychiatrist and stop struggling to pretend to be perfect and without blemish. Embrace being perfect in your weakness and grow to bigger and better things.

So that’s what I have for you. Own your struggle, Let people see you, and Ask for help. Some of the people who struggle with being perfect in weakness the most are mothers, so on this Mother’s Day I hope I’m freeing some of you moms of that burden and that you feel encouraged to just be yourself, flaws and all. I love you, happy Mother’s Day, and keep conquering daily!