One Full Year

03/08/2021

You are not the darkness you endured. You are the light that refused to surrender.
John Mark Green

Dear Exchange Community,

We are coming up to one full year of this way of living with COVID-19.

In one of my first personal messages about the pandemic, this is what I wrote in March, 2020:

"There are many things I don’t know in this time of uncertainty, but here’s one I do: we all need each other. And we need each other’s most authentic selves. Now is not the time to keep an impersonal professional distance. We need to reach out (virtually) as fellow human beings and become a source of strength for one another."

I think we’ve done that. During a time of so much physical separation, we’ve also found such authentic connection. This year has been full in many senses of the word: full of challenge and fear for sure, but also full of community, creativity and bravery.

Pam Boulton, who works with the Exchange Leadership Initiative asked me to encourage all of you to consider applying to become an Exchange Leader as a way to honor that bravery. Pam said:

"The opportunity to become part of this group of inspiring individuals is profound. Apply for yourself or nominate someone else. Standing forward in your own leadership or encouraging someone else to do the same is an act of empowerment. I invite you to seriously consider taking this life-enhancing step."

I echo Pam’s words. Please do consider. And please also spend time pondering the fullness of the past year. As John Mark Green said, "You are the light that refused to surrender."

Warmly, Nancy Rosenow,
Exchange Publisher, on behalf of our whole team

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