Beloved Identity: 11 January 2009

Dear Friends,

Maybe it’s common at the beginning of a new year to look back at the past; to stir up memories and reflect on them. Maybe it’s these short, cold, snowy/icy winter days, those days when we aren’t able to engage in our usual activities of the day because of the weather that gives us time to pause and rehash what has been. Oh for sure, we are looking forward – to spring, to warmth, to the emergence of the new life of nature. But for some reason winter may be more of a time when we look back. This can be of value if we remember our memories fondly or find valuable lessons from our past – our good choices and, yes, even our mistakes. It can also be difficult and stifling to dwell on our past if we fall into the trap of second-guessing and berating ourselves for ways we now think we could have done or been better, as if we could go back and change what has already happened – what has already been done. But no matter where our thoughts take us on these wintry cabin fever type days, a good soul searching, God-seeking question to ask ourselves is: “Where is (or was) God in this or that?” We just may find that God’s presence is with us always and God is so much more forgiving than we are of ourselves. We are our own worst critics after all. And it is God who understands us through and through and knows who we really are.

So…who are we? Or, more appropriately, whose are we? After coming out of the water of the river Jordan, Jesus hears a voice from heaven – the same voice we hear deep within ourselves if we but take the time to listen – “You are my beloved…” (Mark 1:11). Surely it is easy to believe God saying this to Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Chosen One. Is it so difficult to believe God says the same to us, believes the same of us? Are we not made in the image and likeness of God? Did not God declare as good every created thing and being? We may go about our lives trying very hard not to live in the land of “what if’s” and second-guessing ourselves or our past. And yet, I dare to pose one of those “what if” questions for us to ponder: What if I truly believe I am God’s beloved?

Peace on the Journey