.png)
Letter from the Committee
Resilience
Kids are resilient. If you have ever been out on a challenging hike, you have probably noticed the surprising number of “little legs” out on the trail. As you mindfully pace yourself up and down steep inclines, you may look over to see those super toddlers, seemingly new to the very concept of walking, just bee-bopping their way along the same trail as if it’s no harder than walking into the kitchen! Now, you may also catch their momentary wails echoing off a few canyon walls along the way, but with some food, rest, and comfort, they are usually right back on their merry way.
The older we become, the tasks set before us grow larger and more complex, but our capacity to face these new challenges also increases. However, sometimes we also become more aware of larger disparities between our ability and the magnitude of the “mountain” we find in our sights. As our reserves are exhausted, that proverbial mountain can tower over us as we struggle to maintain forward progress.
Our culture is in love with the idea of carving one’s own way in life. Grit is a necessary and valuable quality to encourage within ourselves. However, the difference for the believer is that this inner resilience doesn’t come by resolutely pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. When weathering storms, it is thankfully less about our human effort to pull ourselves back up again, and more about habitually trusting the Father’s merciful and loving heart to pursue and sustain us as His children. That trust and surrender builds our Christ-dependent resilience. In the throes of pain, stress, or waning energy, may we be encouraged that He ALWAYS clutches us in His tender hands.
Psalm 37:23-24: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.”
Kicking off a new year, it is our prayer that we be resilient followers of the Lord regardless of what this year brings—as trusting and resilient toddlers on life’s trail. May our hearts be strengthened to always rise again, not so much by gritting our teeth and powering through, but by leaning into the goodness of the Lord and the seeds of truth He plants and nurtures within us.
John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Your Stoa Alumni Committee,
Samuel Durand (AR), Nicole Kaiser (MT), Alyssa Sloneker (AR), Denise Sprimont-Vasquez (VA), Elizabeth Stapleton (OK), and David Vasquez (VA)
Comments