Quotes about Vulnerability

In the morning he stepped from his tent looking haggard, fearful and guilt-ridden, an eaten shell of a human building rocking perilously on the brink of collapse.

God knows the mess we're in when He calls us. His light shines greater through "cracked pots" than it does through those who have it all together.

The Holy Spirit showed me that when I put up walls to keep others out I also wall myself into solitary place of confinement.

I was afraid to let other make any decisions, because I had no confidence they would be concerned for me.

Three things Jehoshaphat did were very important. First, he acknowledged he had no might to stand against his enemies. Second, he admitted he did not know what to do. And third, he said his eyes were on God. By saying these three things, Jehoshaphat put himself in position for a miracle.

People who have no capacity to trust suspect the motives of others. I know this is true because I had a real problem in this area. Even when other people told me they loved me, I was always waiting for them to hurt me, disappoint me, fail me, or abuse me. I figured that they must be after something; otherwise, they would not be nice to me. I just could not believe that anyone would want me just for myself. There had to be some other reason!

Those who are easily offended and touchy are insecure.

Be not ashamed women, ... You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul.

Our lives improve only when we take chances -- and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.

It is too embarrassing to name and own one's deep failings; as long as they are unvoiced, we may be allowed to pretend it is not so.

Humanness depends on being faithfully heard. And being faithfully heard depends on risky speech of self-disclosure uttered in freedom before a faithful listener.

Grief is an element of aliveness and the answer to the denial the market demands of us. It is an index of our humanity. It is proof of the presence of our relatedness to each other. It is a communal practice that recognizes that choosing the wilderness of vulnerability, mystery, and anxiety was a good and life-affirming choice.