We'd been working through bits of Montgomery Gentry's "Something to Be Proud of"--a random song pulled off my ipod that I thought would be a good springboard for discussions on pride and success and encouragement. In Japan, the comment "I'm really proud of my ____" is just not considered polite, and pride generally (it seems) has negative associations. In the midst of earthquake cleanup and the place trying to pull itself together, I thought pride discussions might be good.
For those of you unfamiliar with the song (as I was, three weeks ago!), it starts out with a father telling his son about past life experiences that he is proud of--hard work, sacrifice, risk, service, family, etc. Then the song goes on to share some of the son's processing and questions involving his own life goals and achievements, ending with the haunting question: Is my life something to be proud of?
The kleenex came out when we started sharing about what that question meant to us...what kinds of things we were proud of. Forget the test scores and skills perfected and high-ranking jobs received--we talked about times of care for others that took every particle of mustered-up energy, dark thoughts and desperation, and times when identity was crushed beyond what we thought fixable.
What were they proud of? They were proud of the breaking and dying that ended up bringing growth and refining love.
I'm thankful for God creating safe places and openness for such discussions. I'm thankful for the bravery shown in sharing. And I'm thankful for the growth and life God brings out of pain and darkness and questions.
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