Balance--Resilience--Faith @sarahsajohnson

On my run this morning, I experienced the gift of a flashback that prompted a realization about the make up of my disposition in leadership, and the revelation nearly knocked the breath out of me with its truthful force. As my feet hit the dirt trail where leaves lay strewn along the path in a skittered pattern, I heard the nearby creak of fragile bark giving way to the force of the gusty wind. The strength of the wind that knocked me back on way out the door this morning and prompted me to take to the tree covered trails had been busy working on the weak branches for hours. At the same time I was processing the debris along the path and its metaphorical meaning to life's seasons, I heard another creak and my vision suddenly swirled while I time machined back to my childhood. Suddenly, I could feel the fear in my chest radiating out of my throat as I screamed for my daddy with the next  echoing creak of the wood snapping around us. My dad's firm, confident, guiding hand rem...

The dock is out. For those who follow me on social media, you will know that I often run to the dock in my town where I meet the sun #RISE but also immerse myself in nature. Lately, I have posted about showing up in all conditions and not taking it for granted. Today, I happened to run down right in the moment when the workers were removing it. I am aware the experience was meant to teach me about shifts in season and not anchoring to one space. This particular dock is meaningful. Over the course of four years of a running streak, I have gone often to it through all types of life trials and triumphs. When I was at my most unbalanced, I clung to the glistening reflection of the sun off the water in numb hope that somehow the light would filter back into my soul, and I might revive. It is at that dock where I finally fell to my knees in humble prayer to finally release my will and ask God to take my burdens from me. To lift my feet and guide my steps into His will for me because I...

This week has been emotionally challenging and soul stirring, twisting even. More than I have felt in my adult life, there is a divide forming in my circles that is threatening the deep threads and strong tethers built in both my professional and personal life. I am seeing arguments break out on Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkdIn (not Instagram yet which I willingly attribute to it's chill factor and not my inept use of the platform.) This may because I am on these platforms more often with the nature of this chapter of my life, but something tells me I am not alone. Instead of using this post to share the grimy details of the week and the myriad interactions, I suffice it to say that this week has been a grind for restraint and perfecting the art of what I now call Tweet and Delete. I have to continually check myself about my own reactions and whether or not any contribution is productive and reflective of the leader I am called to be. In that statement lies the challenges I ...

As I sit to write this post, I am a bit antsy. I have not run today because my daughter is ill, and I am choosing priority over preference this morning. It means that while I absolutely prefer to run in the morning when the silence is most dominant, and the tone for the day is still mine to set, there is a priority that dominates over that preference. Today that priority is making service to others paramount even more than the average day. The challenge is keeping up the critical self-care streak that has helped me thrive through 1,535 other days preceding this one. After dancing with the intention of writing this post for months, I figured this was the perfect way to channel my anxious thoughts that have not been dispelled through the glory of an endorphin release. For readers who may not know, I have run every day since July 11, 2014. That means over four consecutive years of daily running through all weather figurative and literal in life. My nine year old was five. My nearly se...

“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”  ―  John C. Maxwell Titles. They define us in ways that we don't even choose at times. Simply having "Principal" behind my name carried connotations for people based upon their experiences that created barriers of which I may not have even been aware. One of my favorite experiences in my most recent chapter as a high school principal was when people came into the main office and chatted with me for a bit prior to knowing who I was.  When I introduced myself as the principal, there were many noteworthy reactions, but many tied to the fact that I didn't look like their principal growing up. This usually followed a description of a male advanced in age with few follicles atop his crown, and it always left me feeling a sense of accomplishment for simply existing to shatter their paradigm of how a high school principal should present. The title of principal can creat...

Sometimes leaders do what they dread because they know they must show up in the dark places and be the light for others. It's easy for anyone to be present or even join in raucously when the banner is flying, energy is pumping, and smiles are wide with euphoria. True tests of leadership exist in the spaces less desirable. The temptation to check out of the ugly experiences of life can be great, thinking that maybe nobody will notice because the spotlight rarely shines in the more challenging spaces to which leaders are called. In fact, our most austere moments as leaders often evolve from the choice to show up where many would honestly rather not. But we do. And that's what separates us.  Today, I shared an experience with other such leaders who dared to enter into the darkness of a family's grief. The funeral of a former student. And it never gets easier. In fact, I would venture to say that with my advancing age comes the experience of multiple losses, and while that m...

"She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25 We are given opportunities in life to learn from one another, and many times it is so easy to miss lessons right in front of us. Today, I am grateful for an interaction from the weekend that has impacted me on deep levels, and it comes from the humility of learning about someone's beautiful burden. My lips grew numb from the level of shock I sustained when I realized that back in Feb. 2016, this woman had been nearly two years into the storm, and I had no idea. I never took the time to learn about her. Never interacted with her in a way that would allow for me to see her as the person and not just the tech expert helping our staff.  I missed an opportunity to see what was right in front of me in a beautiful, strong, serving soul. So, I am honoring Naomi Harm today in this post for her strength, class, determination, and her heart. For her ability to get it done despite ...