I know we see this word on Pinterest, on t-shirts and Facebook captions. We get it tattooed or we hang it on the car mirror - but do we actually understand what it means to be resilient, or how to even live resiliently?

When I think of the word resilient, I think of the image in that scripture. Blame it on my career in athletics, but to me, resilience was getting up after you’ve been knocked down. As I grew up and began to experience more in life, I realized that resilience could also hold an element of rebuilding, and that it was not a one and done like I had hoped.

Nehemiah lived 800+ miles from home selecting wines for the King of Babylon. He lived a comfortable life, lacking nothing, when he received word that his people and his city and his people had suffered a great devastation.

Driven by grief and brokenness, Nehemiah asked the king to send him to the city where his family is from to allow him to rebuild the it himself. The king granted him leave and three days later, Nehemiah arrived to a broken Jerusalem, walls in ruin, gates burned to ash.

And yet, Nehemiah rallied others to his side and instead of considering Jerusalem a lost cause, he began to rebuild the wall of the city. And by the end of the book, we see him succeed.

I possessed this same drive and mission when my own life looked and felt like Jerusalem’s walls - broken, fallen apart, in ruin. But often, when arriving on the scene of my own destruction, I want to turn away - to count it all as lost, to get the cake for the pity party and live in mourning of the plans, relationships, and expectations I’d had.

But Nehemiah shows us that with God, we can be resilient. We can rebuild from ruins and we can go on.

It isn’t as simple though as some super glue and a prayer. No, Nehemiah did three things we see in scripture that contributed to his success when rebuilding the city:

How often do we see God do this? When we relinquish control of our life, how often does He take the very thing that we thought would be the end, and use it as the foundation of what is to come?

The bible tells us where two or three are gathered in His name, He is among them (Matthew 18:20). We are not called to heal alone. The Lord gives us people in our life not to hide our hardships from, but to let them in to help us shoulder the burden.

Boundaries are not admission that you are weak, but that your circumstance, your health and your well-being are valuable. Putting boundaries in place while you rebuild from what you’ve been through protect the peace you’re working hard to regain.

Protection was not put in place because the wall was weak, but because it was valuable.

Living resilient isn’t a vacation. It requires work, it requires vulnerability, and it requires strength. But you are worth that work.

I know it. God knows it. And it’s time you knew it too.

I am going deeper into the story of Nehemiah and how God uses his story to show us how to live resilient, why boundaries are important, and what it looks like to invite Him into your rebuilding.

Here’s to living resilient, to being vulnerable, and to trusting God to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask or think.