I nominate Adriana Greenblatt

"I've been commissioned to bind up the brokenhearted,     to proclaim freedom for the captives     and release from darkness for the prisoners…. to comfort the sad and grieving, …….to bestow on them a crown of beauty     instead of ashes, the oil of joy     instead of mourning, and a garment of praise     instead of a spirit of despair, is a declaration attributed to the 8th Century BC prophet Isaiah. 

This spirit of mending, healing, comforting, and bringing restoration to brokenness is exactly what Adriana Greenblatt,  (https://www.worldpulse.com/user/28494/bio) our sister from Montreal, embodies. We see it through her work with victims of abuse and gender-based violence, her heartfelt encouragement in the way she takes what a sister has written, pulls out the gems that either resonate or challenge her, and identifies ways these can be implemented for growth and change.

Her personal posts on speaking out about abuse are rife with hope and pathways to healing and freedom. This one here breaks so many barriers, validates the trauma that so many abuse victims experience, unmasks the lies that latch on to trauma, speaks to the lies, disables them, and invites all into a gentle journey of acknowledgement and healing!  

Her love, care and hope that many women will find wholeness and healing in this story is captivating and, for lack of a better word, disarming.

But what I most appreciate about our Adriana is her humility, and how teachable she is. She is always on the lookout for a new idea that she can absorb and develop to create change and is therefore always giving back value to the stories she encourages and the sisters who write them. This impacts me because I am a teacher, and therefore, naturally, being teachable is not my strong suit. But how can we grow if we don’t make room for new ideas, if we don’t acknowledge their value enough to develop them, if we don’t allow them to open doors for us to collaborate with others?

Adriana’s vulnerability and free spirit invites others into the freedoms she fights for, while making it ok to not have everything sparkly on the path to those freedoms.

I therefore nominate Adriana Greenblatt for her authentic encouragement, her vulnerability, her commitment to and fight for women who’ve experienced abuse and GBV.

Keep proclaiming freedom, light, joy, beauty, and sparkly praise to the women of the world from Montreal to Nairobi, dear Adriana. I am honored to know you, inspired by your work, and enriched by your encouragement!