What Thriving Looks Like

"Thriving" means "prospering, highly successful" and "growing vigorously; flourishing" (THRIVING Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com). Our motto, "Love-Heal-Thrive," reflects our belief that love fosters healing, which makes thriving possible.

During an intake session, a survivor I'll call "Sarah" asked me, "What does thriving look like?" Exhausted after 40 years of marriage marked by physical violence and relentless emotional abuse, she struggled to believe she had any worth at all.

In her first weeks at Bethesda House, Sarah resisted participating in our furniture restoration program. Gradually, she engaged — first sanding a chair alongside me, then spray painting it. When we finished, she noticed the underside needed work. "This just won't do, Ms. Alison. Look at the bottom!" At her suggestion, we added felt to cover it. That chair was beautiful from every angle — and so was what was happening inside Sarah. She was discovering her own gifts, her own worth, and learning to love herself.

The Thrive Center captures this well: “True thriving is growing into our unique selves and using our individuality to partner together in living out love in the world” (What Does Thriving Mean? - Thrive Center). Sarah and I experienced exactly that. She completed our program and moved out on her own — one of many Bethesda House residents who have healed and gone on to live independently.

So, what does thriving actually look like? We've found the indicators are both internal and external.

Internally, thriving looks like gratitude, joy, peace, and the self-awareness captured in the Serenity Prayer “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” From that foundation, survivors embrace new challenges: education, job training, financial management, healthy boundaries, and new hobbies.

Externally, thriving looks like paying bills, maintaining a home, staying sober, building healthy relationships with family, friends, and neighbors, and giving back to the community. Most survivors we've served have found faith communities where these markers of thriving come to life.

It is our joy at Bethesda House to create a loving space where survivors can heal — and then thrive.