“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
ISAIAH 43:1
Happy new liturgical year! In the Catholic Church calendar the new year begins in advent, a little lent, as we prepare for the coming of Emmanuel- “God with us”- Jesus Christ as a newborn baby born into the manager of our souls. During this season of active festivities and internal stillness, I normally reflect on a word for the new year. For the liturgical and literal new year, a word shone into my mind as suddenly and as bright as the star which guided the wisemen to the Christ child: WHOLENESS. Such a quick epiphany blossomed out of the experiences sowed by last year word: TENDER MERCY. For in my mediation of last year’s word, well really phrase, the Holy Spirit gently revealed my tender places, those wounds from the past which affect my present in need of merciful compassion. Wounds such as a five year old girl terrified my her father’s temper or a fifteen year old teenager rejected due to her awkwardness and unattractiveness, without friends and lonely. Now, as a confident fully-grown thirty year old woman full of grace and truth, I still wince when someone or something accidentally pokes these bruises such as my husband yelling at our kids in frustration, when I perceive rejection by others such as missing a group picture while in the restroom or not receiving an invitation, or even when I look in the mirror to critique the baby fat still clinging to my frame three kids later. Such tender places of insecurities affect my attachment to my own husband as I wrestle with worries of unworthiness. Thus after such revealing experiences exposed my tenderness I believed previously fully healed, the Holy Spirit spoke such merciful words of fully seen, fully known and fully loved. Therefore the seeds sow in the muck with tender mercy shall reap a harvest of WHOLENESS.
To embrace living out of Wholeness means to become holy with the holes inside of me by the grace of God claiming me as a dear daughter: so BELOVED, so BEAUTIFUL who BELONGS.
Belonging
Entirely
Loved
Overtly
Valued
Eternally
Desired
Beholding
Every
Accepted
Uniqueness
Trusting
Intimately
Fully
Understanding
Loveliness
Being
Ever
Loved
Opening
Name
Given
Do I dare to be whole?
To believe the broken parts in me can merged entirely unified?
Do I wholly embrace my holy holes, knowing I am wholly His and He is wholly mine?
To I dare to heal, wholly embracing that I am His beautiful beloved daughter who belongs?
As your hearth and home enlighten with the Chritmas trimmings may the Holy Spirit sing a word into your heart to ignite your soul this advent season and into the new year!
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