Summer Book Club 2: Setting & Stretching Boundaries

Hello, Book Club friends 🙂 Here are a few quick thoughts on section two (chapters 4-6). I’m looking forward to hearing your takeaways as well so please share in the comments!

Pruning Hurts & Helps

My husband loves a good challenge. He’s positive and confident and hard things seem to do nothing but energize him. Me? Not so much. I’d like life to be smooth sailing and endless success; no hard stuff in between, please.

But I know the hardest stuff is often the most helpful too. I grow and change the most when I’m stretched and tried.

As an introvert, I think it’s easy to use personality as an excuse sometimes. I’m tempted to excuse myself from situations or activities because I find them stressful or overwhelming. And while it’s sometimes fine to say no, personality shouldn’t serve as a free pass all the time. Martin says it this way:

When we understand ourselves as introverted women, we can respect and value how God made us, and we can push beyond our natural boundaries when he calls.

Jamie C. Martin

I can think of several instances when pushing through my own fear and anxiety led to tremendous blessing. The other day, one of my closest friends and I recounted how we first met– and marveled at how out of character it was for me.

She had just moved to the area. I really wanted to get to know her but I’m not exactly the type who walks up to people I don’t know and starts chatting. But that day, that’s exactly what I felt compelled to do. I walked across a crowded room, introduced myself, small-talked, and invited her family of six over for Thanksgiving dinner. Now she’s one of my best friends and I’m amazed by what grew from that first out-of-my-comfort-zone conversation.

Since then, I’ve learned to open up my heart and home to others as well. We’ve had missionaries (complete strangers!) stay in our home, hosted ladies’ get-togethers, and had lots of family and friends share meals around our table. All of this stresses and wear me out. It’s doesn’t come naturally or easily to me at all. But it’s truly so rewarding and I know God has used it to grow and change me over the years.

Understanding our introversion, therefore, doesn’t mean we attempt to avoid challenges, but that we recognize challenges ahead of time and come up with a plan for how to handle them.

Jamie C. Martin

Balancing Stress with Rest

As I learn to push past weakness, I’m also learning to balance stressful seasons and situations with rest. Yes, sometimes God calls me to do something beyond my comfort or ability. But I truly believe we need to allow for rest and refreshment in between trying times to avoid burnout.

In closing, I loved this quote:

I’m not a bit changed–not really. I’m only just pruned down and branched out. The real me–back here–is just the same.

L.M. Montgomery // Anne of Green Gables

God isn’t asking us to completely change who we are or who he created us to be. But he will sometimes ask us to face stress and challenges in order to grow and refine us into the women he wants us to be. May we balance the two with grace.

What are your biggest takeaways?

I’ll see you here in a couple weeks as we discuss Section Three (ch. 7-9).