As someone who grew up in a home with parents who love the Lord, who has known Christ since childhood, and who has been a regular church attendee for my whole life, I feel that I’ve observed a wide array of “Christians”– many of whom had little experience mentoring others with real-world struggles or were often ingenuine about what a walk with the Lord can look like and how to be honest about their own weaknesses. Neither of these things can be said about David and Hope for the Soul.
One of the first things I noticed about David was his openness in conversation. The better I came to understand his story and background, the more appreciation I had for David’s authenticity. That authenticity makes David easy to talk with and confide in, and the insight he provides comes from Godly perspective through a “real world” lens.
2010 had a lot of apprehension, and I was forced to deal with some emotional baggage that I had been avoiding for several years. David noticed that something in my demeanor was different and briefly expressed concern a couple of times, but since I have never been comfortable discussing this area of my life, I wasn’t really sure what to say. Our dialogue was on my mind all week, and when I had a few minutes, I finally composed an email to him and shared the whole story. It was a very vulnerable moment in my life, and I felt that there was a certain ‘risk’ in opening up that Pandora’s Box, even though I was opening it up to people I trusted explicitly. David’s response was immediate and comforting; it made me laugh and brought me to tears, and provided a comfort that I can’t express in words. He reminded me of God’s grace in orchestrating our life steps and that hardships in life may always be difficult to understand, even when we feel like we’re being obedient in our walk with the Lord.
I’ve learned a lot from David and Hope for the Soul:
- It’s important to stand up for yourself, and confrontation is not always a ‘bad’ thing. Through roommate situations and landlord situations, I’ve learned that there is an appropriate and constructive way to handle relationships with others. Dodging uncomfortable conversations doesn’t really help anyone, and growth will inevitably follow for both parties in one way or another as a result of facing conflict head-on.
- It’s okay to ‘not take life too seriously’ sometimes. Some performances are just meant to be fun, and mistakes are simply a reminder that we’re human. It gives us credibility and approachability.
- It’s vital to recognize that God created humans to be emotional beings, and he did not create us to carry our burdens alone. It’s okay to acknowledge when “life sucks”, and we don’t have to be ‘happy’ all the time. As long as we remember that recognition of emotions should be followed with an attempt at closure, there’s nothing wrong with recognizing how life makes us feel.
C.B.