Courage to be Vulnerable

With movies like Dunkirk, Spiderman and Atomic Blonde in theaters, it becomes easy to narrowly define courage. In movies like these, courage is about facing evil or violence, and often with more violence. At CYTI these last two weeks, we saw courage in a way that brings me to the edge of tears every time I think about it. A two-week institute discussing issues of faith and vocation seems like an unlikely context for courage, but it became one in our little community of 17 high school students, 9 mentors, 1 faculty member, and 2 directors.

As we shared life together for two weeks, we inevitably began building relationships and a sacred environment. It was in the midst of those relationships that stories were shared of anxiety, brokenness, depression, fears and hurt. To have young men and women share at the depth and with the authenticity they did should be an encouragement to all who read this post. These participants not only learned, laughed, and served, they also loved, cried and embraced one another. While there are many things I will reflect on in the coming months, what I will most remember is the courage these students showed by being vulnerable with one another, not only a willingness to share, but the courage to receive as well.

Thank you Bethany, Cameron, Davin, Emmaline, Frederick, Harleigh, Houston, Jaden, Jamari, Jaylon, Jessie, Makayla, Mariah, Michael, Sarai, Tabitha, William, Brandon, Daphanie, Devyn, Diane, Kelly Ruth, Micayla, Morgan, Shannon, Tyana, Colin, Dr. Jorgenson, and Cheese for inspiring me and reminding me what courage is all about.