Selfless Service Turns Chaos into Strength

Even with our careers seemingly taking shape, realizing what Matt was dealing with and what he’d need our support to work through in the years that followed was a gut-punch. More than any other thing I’ve encountered, that forced me to learn what practicing empathy was all about. I had always been willing to do all I could to outwork any problem I was faced with. This was different, it forced me to identify ways of serving my family rather than just burying myself in hard work. Albeit not as fast as it should have happened, I gradually provided the selfless service - the service they needed and deserved - that turns (eventually) turns chaos into strength.

Just to be clear, I’ll say it once more: Matt is an amazing son, husband, and dad today. But carrying the weight of the unknown back then was more than we had dealt with to that point. Learning to make the best of bad situations like these starts with showing up fully for those who depend on us most - creating quiet, authentic influence that strengthens every area of life. Showing up is where we have the chance to find the hidden seeds; reflecting on the adversity, though, increases our odds of discovering the equal or greater benefit that potentially lies within that seed. But even then, we must plant that seed and be very intentional in nurturing it.

Making the best of family stumbles isn’t survival - it’s intentional preparation, transforming home trials into chains of relational leadership readiness. Reflecting on those stumbles reveals needs, decisive service plants seeds, consistency nurtures them. Discipline in family chaos outweighs talent in any role.

Juggling two wildly different scenarios at once, amazing career opportunities and the unexpected storm of learning how to navigate petit mal seizures, had little to do with one another at first glance. Looking back, though, the empathy I was forced to learn in order to best serve our family proved to be a skill that’s increased my leadership effectiveness in every professional role I’ve held since. We’ll close this look at how family trials help uncover the hidden strengths we’ll need in balancing chaos next but working through a few questions that challenge us to mine those trials for relational seeds. But first, take a moment to review each thing you’ve reflected on to this point; outline how one family pivot could amplify your leadership impact.