David & Goliath: A Story of Resilience, Purpose, & Wholeness.
Have you ever heard of the story of David and Goliath? If you grew up in church or frequented the establishment from time to time (Christmas, Easter, the biggies for instance), then you likely heard this biblical story recounted numerous times. If you have no history with church and possibly do not believe in God, the bible, or any other higher power, please do not discount the power and intention of this story.
Silent Victories, Profound Moments.
David was the youngest of eight sons born to Jesse of Bethlehem. One day a prophet named Samuel came to Jesse’s home to anoint a new king of Israel and, in doing so, he asked the father to bring out each of his sons. Jesse presented seven of his eight sons, leaving out David. In Jesse’s mind, David was not king worthy. David was a young, fragile, shepherd boy. Luckily for David, Jesse demanded to see David anyway. Upon meeting David, Jesse immediately anointed him the next King of Israel.
Indeed, David was a shepherd boy, as he spent most of his days out in the fields tending to sheep. Yet, it was out in these fields that David would defeat a huge bear and a roaring lion. These were silent battles and victories for sure, but one day they would serve David well. Actually, that one day came when David found himself walking down to the camp to speak with his brothers. There, he would see Goliath. Goliath was the head of the Philistine army, a human giant standing at nine feet tall, a revered champion fighter shielded with thick body armor. Goliath, up until that day, had taunted the Israelites (David’s people) for forty days and nights. David heard this and immediately became angry. He could not understand why none of the Israelites, especially their King Saul, could walk around with their heads down and do nothing. He decided that he, little David, the shepherd boy, the outlier of Jesse’s eight sons, would go down to defeat this Giant once and for all.
The army of the Israelites, doing what they thought was appropriate, attempted to dress David in armor and provide him with various tools that he surely would need in order to defeat this champion, this beast. However, David refused to carry any of their shields or swords. With just a sling and a rock, David crossed the hillside to defeat Goliath. In an instance, Goliath stumbled and fell to the ground. In astonishment to all of those watching, David, the shepherd boy, the doubted one, took down the taunting machine for good.
Resiliency.
Emmy Werner in 1982 adopted the term resiliency to “describe the quality that enables many young people to thrive in the face of adversity” (Peterson, 2006, p. 239). Bonnie Benard, nine years later, extended Werner’s findings to the belief that every child has the potential to develop resiliency if, however, they become accustomed to a set of adaptive response patterns learned throughout childhood. These adaptive response patterns, according to Benard, includes: persistence, hardiness, goal-directedness, healthy success orientation, achievement motivation, a belief in the future, a sense of anticipation, a sense of purpose, and a sense of coherence. (Peterson, 2006)
Truly, David represented the very essence of resiliency. Luthar states, “that people who possess resilience have the ability to adapt to stressful events in a healthy and flexible manner” (Luthar, 1991). Resilient individuals have the ability to face their circumstances and pull whatever tools from within to conquer and press forward. Kashdan & Biswas-Diener (2014) when talking about the path towards wholeness said, “you need to become aware of all aspects of yourself, including your darker tendencies, and be agile enough to integrate them into your behavioral repertoire as needed” (p. 220). Those who have a deep desire to grow, to have and be loved, to find meaning and purpose out of life, will inevitably invite in the spirit of resiliency and wholeness, by drawing on the good and bad of their life to meet the functional demands of any given moment.
Take 3: Lessons for Life, Lessons for NOW.
· Lead with Purpose—at the heart of David’s story is the philosophy of purpose. David knew that his life had meaning. David was aware of his values and he had a vision in mind of who he could and would be one day. When you lead with purpose, it automatically engages you to see what you HAVE and not what you lack. A perspective of purpose inspires you to approach life, and not avoid. We must know that each of our lives has purpose and meaning. This is the root that gives rise to a nature of resiliency…it’s what makes you a conquer, an overcomer.
· Juiced—do you have a juice machine? I don’t have one, but when I was living in Georgia, I would go to this place called UpDog. UpDog is a smoothie and juice place inside of yoga studio. I would watch the barista put carrots, celery, apples, and beets into the juicier machine. The juicer is designed so that the essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, liquids, etc.) are extracted from the fruits and vegetables. The purpose of the juicer, in other words, is to pull out the essential ingredients and discard of what’s no longer needed or useful. Similarly, David took the essential lessons from his days tending sheep. Like David, you too may have moments in your life that felt like a waste of time or moments when you felt overlooked. However, I’m willing to bet if you looked back more closely—with a fresh perspective—you’d be able to extract some essential lessons that can serve you profoundly today.
· Battle Ready—We are now aware of our strengths; we are aware of what exactly makes us an overcomer. And so, when life throws you a curve ball or into a fight unsolicited, you no longer run or back down. You know that you are battle ready. You know that you are equipped with great skills and lessons. You understand that life never waste a lesson or experience, its only us and the mindset or lens for which we choose to look at life that allows an experience to be discarded. In this very moment, you have within you, the capacity to rise resiliently, whole-fully, and with an abundance of purpose.
The question is, what will you do with your sling and rock?