I want to introduce you to my friend, Margaret Feinberg. She’s written a car-trunk full of books and Bible studies including Scouting the Divine and Wonderstruck.
Sadly, Margaret’s had a tough couple of years fighting cancer. Yet, she’s chosen to fight back with one of the most unusual weapons—joy. Bet you can see why I love her already. I asked her to share a few thoughts with us today. May you be as blessed as I am.
I can’t help but admire your strength.
When other people say “impossible”, you hear a personal challenge.
When others dare use the word, “can’t”, you manage to find a way.
When others are ready to give up, you’ve just begun.
You turn a mountain into a molehill and the overwhelming into manageable.
It’s one of the many things I adore about you.
Now let’s be clear. I know you’re not perfect. You’re the first to admit that. But even after all your self-deprecation, many of us still suspect you have super human strength running through your veins.
Yet even for you, the strong woman, the leader, life is hard sometimes. This world is mixed up and messed up.
In the middle of it all, you’re still holding on, holding strong.
Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful. You.
But sometimes, when everyone is out of earshot, you let the tears flow, the words fall, and you wonder if you’re really doing okay, if it’s all going to be okay.
I wonder these things, too. I suspect most of us strong women do.
But there comes a time when we need to let our hair down and get honest and vulnerable about the struggles.
The fears we don’t say aloud lest they be true.
The anxieties that wake us up in the night.
The loneliness that attacks when we least suspect it.
That’s one of the reasons I wrote Fight Back With Joy book and Bible study—the most heart-wrenching, vulnerable project I’ve ever done. In it, I share my battle with cancer and the lessons that I’ve learned along the way as I’ve walked in the dark with God.
Here’s a sneak peek of the video: http://mar.cta.gs/0be
Because us strong women need to connect, and create a space to wrestle through the deepest issues of our heart and our faith. After all, the robustness of God is best displayed in frailty.
This book makes me feel so vulnerable. So raw. So real.
I’m taking that risk for you.
Because you’re worth it.
And us strong women need to stick together—especially if we’re going to change the world—and be a people who fight back with joy.
