The goal of the process is to rise from our falls, overcome our mistakes, and face hurt in a way that brings more wisdom and wholeheartedness into our lives. Brené Brown.
I pray that you will overflow with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and wisdom… May you be filled to overflowing with the fruit of right living that shows you are a child of God… Philippians 1:9-11
This week I am on spiritual retreat with a group of women exploring their purpose and calling. I guess you could say they are asking the question: “What is my arena? Where in the world do I want to show up, and be brave?”
I’m very proud of them (and me:) And here’s what I can do for us all– it’s more powerful than anything else. I can pray. I can ask God for favor; and I can speak God’s words of grace and power over us all as often as humanly possible.
Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 is powerful to me, because it voices exactly what I desire– to grow in love, spiritual knowledge and wisdom– to overflow with goodness and be a true child of God in contemplation and action.
And what about the falls, mistakes and hurts that come into our lives and disrupt the goodness?
Well… What if our face down moments are much more than painful tragedies or occasions for evil to mock us in the face? What if wisdom and wholeheartedness grow in our hearts AS we rise from falls, overcome mistakes and face hurts head on? What if courage forges new material in the human spirit?
As I listen to these womens’ lives, that’s what I hear happening.
Starter Prayer
God, may love and wisdom grow in our hearts. Give us the grace to lean into the discomfort long enough for strength to rise.
Reading Focus for Rising Strong, by Brené Brown
Try to get through chapters 1-2 by your first group discussion; and chapters 3-4 for the second session.
Awake 