Integrate Our Stories

   I am joining Kate Motaung and others who are writing every day in October. My intention is to record my reactions and feelings about Brené Brown's newest book, "Rising Strong". You can find the other posts I have written here.     

"Integration is the soul of rising strong"

This statement has made me ponder the most as I have read Rising Strong. What is it exactly that I am integrating and how do I do it? For me it means taking time to acknowledge emotional stories where I feel like I am the hero but also taking time to process the stories where I am the antagonist. I have some deficiencies in being all I want to be and in being genuine in the picture I want to others to see. As I stated in another post, I am a people pleaser. People pleasers don't have good boundaries. 

I am German and I find it amusing to play with the English and German language. " Ich will" means I want to but "I will" has a much stronger commitment. My family teases by asking, "Do you want to or will you actually do it?"     I have hurt relationships because I was all in, only to find I could not do what was expected in the end. These issues, difficult to admit, need to be woven in like the yarn hanging off my knitting. There are loose ends and broken threads that only my savior can fix. Trying to mend them with willpower will not work. I know that. I look to him and desire to walk a little farther into the darkness of the unknown outcome. "We can't be "all in" if only parts show up. If we are not living, loving, parenting, or leading with our whole, integrated hearts, we'e doing it halfheartedly." DaySpring.com is celebrating all of the amazing Write 31 Days readers who are supporting nearly 2,000 writers this October! To enter to win a $500 DaySpring shopping spree, just click on this link & follow the giveaway widget instructions. Good luck, and thanks for reading!