Can You Imagine being Mary?

Posted on April 8, 2023 by VoW under Christian Spirituality

It is written, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Can you imagine being Mary? Watching as your son is tortured? Feeling pain in the depths of your being as there’s nothing you can do to help? Then seeing him die on the cross…

When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do you think Mary knew of Psalm 22? That this would be the fulfillment of a prophecy?

Do you think her heart sunk with thoughts of her son’s abandonment? Or of her own? Can you imagine the mix of emotions as she trusted in her son when He said, “I’ll come back”? Would he? Is revival actually possible?

What does it look like to wait in anticipation? To be faithful during the “in between”? Can our hearts be both broken and expectant at the same time?

…Can you imagine being Mary?

Imagination and Prayer

Posted on November 9, 2016 by VoW under Christian Spirituality, Daily Inspiration

As we age, imagination either overtakes logic/memory or logic and memories overtake our imagination. Imagination is the road less traveled but it is the pathway to prayer. Prayer and imagination are directly proportionate. The more you pray, the bigger your imagination becomes.

A good test of your spiritual maturity is whether your imagination is getting larger or smaller. The older you get, the more faith you should have because you have experienced more of God’s faithfulness. It’s God’s faithfulness that increases our faith and ultimately, our imagination and dreams.

God wants us to keep on dreaming until the day we die. If we keep praying, we’ll keep dreaming. And vice versa. In fact, praying is a form of dreaming and using our imagination is also a form of prayer.

The Dreamers and Visionaries

Posted on April 15, 2016 by VoW under Daily Inspiration

“The visionaries and dreamers of the world are the driving force behind it. These are the inventors, artists, philosophers, educators, business people, designers, scientists, leaders, and so on…

The world lives in their ideas and ways and it cannot let their ideas die fruitlessly.

The world is beautiful because of the dreamers and visionaries.”

–I am Wealth. I am Abundance. I am Joy.

Posted on February 6, 2015 by VoW under Christian Spirituality

Never let your fears redefine your faith.

My Hope For You This New Year (A Poem)

Posted on January 2, 2015 by VoW under Poetry

My hope for you this New Year

is forgiveness of yourself and others,

revival of what matters most,

relationships with friends and lovers.

My hope for you is motivation,

bigger dreams, and inspiration.

Realistic goals and follow through,

these things are my hope for you.

My hope for you this New Year

is healing what you’ve broken;

repairing, mending, letting go

of all apologies left unspoken.

I hope when you look back to where

you were this time last year,

you’re in an entirely different place.

Your truest self is ever near.

I hope that you have grown and changed.

With open arms embrace the pain,

search for joy, and new love, too.

These things are my hope for you.

Arguments

Posted on August 22, 2014 by VoW under Relationships & Love, Thought for the Day

In an argument, have patience.

Imagine if someone were to come at you with their fists doubled, surely you would double your own just as fast.

But now, imagine someone comes to you asking to sit together, hoping to understand your point of view and exactly why yours differ. In this instance, you may find that you are not so far apart after all…that the points on which you differ are few and the points on which you agree are many.

In arguments, if only we can possess patience, and a desire to get together, we will get together.

Did You Marry the Wrong Person?

Posted on August 1, 2014 by VoW under Relationships & Love

marriage

Did I marry the wrong person? This is a common question in today’s world. Or often, people will believe that they married the right person back then, but justify their marriage breakdown with, “He/she is just not the same person that I married…”

But did you know that the human body essentially recreates itself every 6 months? In that time frame, nearly every cell of skin, hair, and bone dies and another is directed to its former place. So, guess what?! You are physically not the same person that you were last August!

Should we be surprised then that our partner of choice changes too? Of course not.

The unity of marriage is not designed for you to have the perfect roommate. And you will always marry the wrong person, because the one you marry will always be a sinner. But alas, marriage is designed to teach you how to wash another sinner’s feet. If only you will stick around long enough to properly learn.

When you say “I do,” you are essentially committing to make the choice to love that person, today, and every 6 months for the rest of your life, even as he/she inevitably changes. In other words, “This isn’t the same person I married” is not a justifiable reason to leave. In fact, it is no reason at all.