“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”
— Proverbs 31:25
I used to think strength looked loud. Confident. Certain. Like someone who always knew the next step and took it without hesitation.
But life has a way of teaching you otherwise.
Looking back now—especially in this quieter season of empty nesting—I see that most of my strength didn’t show up with a plan or a spotlight. It showed up in small, ordinary moments. In doing what needed to be done. In getting back up when I didn’t feel ready. In choosing love, responsibility, and faith even when I felt unsure.
No cape required.
There were seasons when I thought I was just surviving. Keeping plates spinning. Saying yes when it would have been easier to say no. Letting go when my heart wanted to hold on. Starting over more than once. At the time, none of it felt heroic. It felt exhausting. Necessary. Quiet.
Only now do I recognize what was really happening.
I was learning resilience.
I was learning strength that didn’t need applause.
I was learning that leadership often looks like service.
I was learning that vision doesn’t always come with clarity—sometimes it comes with trust.
Empty nesting slows things down in a way that forces reflection. When the noise fades, you finally hear your own thoughts again. You start to see patterns. You notice how much you carried. You realize how often you showed up without fully acknowledging the cost—or the courage—it took.
If I’m honest, I made mistakes along the way. Plenty of them. I trusted the wrong people at times. I doubted myself more than I should have. I stayed too long in some seasons and rushed through others. But those missteps didn’t cancel out the growth. They shaped it.
And maybe that’s the lesson I’m carrying forward most clearly now:
Strength isn’t the absence of mistakes.
It’s the willingness to keep going anyway.
I don’t look back with regret the way I once feared I might. I look back with gratitude—for the woman who kept showing up even when she didn’t feel strong, even when she didn’t have answers, even when she didn’t realize she was becoming someone steadier, wiser, and more grounded than before.
If you’re in the middle of your own messy, demanding season—whether you’re raising kids, letting go, starting over, or wondering who you are now—I hope you hear this gently:
You don’t need to become stronger.
You already are.
Sometimes it just takes a little distance—and a little quiet—to finally see it.
No cape required.
š With love, faith, and a quietly growing nest,
Kerri
When the Nest Emptied, God Showed Up
Sharing the journey God is writing in this new season.
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