7.17.23 - 1 Samuel 1:16
Where are moments in your life where you hold tenderness and vulnerability that is important to share with those around you?
1 Samuel 1:16
Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.
In this story, Hannah has been distraught for years. The people around her have been unempathetic and unlistening. And in this moment, despite her position as a woman, she stands up for her right to be anxious and vexed and sad. She defends her ability to emote in the temple, and Eli the priest meets her in her distress.
I am a cryer and an emoter. I have tried to stop it throughout my life; it has often not been received well. In recent years, I have learned to honor my tears and my ability to emote as a gift. I sometimes tease that my ministry is to normalize crying in public because many people have had tenderness trained out of them. Sometimes our tenderness and vulnerabilities are important. Hannah unwittingly interrupts the sexism (she is “just a woman”) and Eli sees her and cares.
Where are moments in your life where you hold tenderness and vulnerability that are important to share with those around you? With the world? How can you stand up for your right to share?
Are there some people whose experiences and emotions you try to silence or ignore? What might happen if you got curious about why?