Jo Bower's Blog

I searched for something to define my wishes for the New Year:
I had my daily devotions,
And at the end of each I’d celebrate
Hey, that’s a good idea.

But nothing stuck.
All I ended up with was a series of good ideas.
Nothing to change my life
Into this exciting time of 2013.

I’m reminded:
To ‘keep it simple;
Christ is the vine,
And as I live in him ‘life now becomes spiritually creative,”

I’m reminded ‘Real Peace is not the lack of turmoil or anxiety,
But a deep rootedness in the God who is my anchor.’
And I am reminded the Magi who traveled ‘are my representatives.’
They remind me we ALL are included in God’s gift of the season.

See, the messages at the end of this year have been so good,
I’ve not been able to embrace one above the other.
Then I realized I was looking in the wrong place.
I was looking at ideas, not searching for a person.

I am trying to follow a formula.
I like the rituals of worship.
They provide a framework upon which to hang my personal experience.
But formulas and rituals only serve one purpose.

So, for the New Year, I turned my face toward God.
God, I give me to you again this year…
I have learned (again) last year
That your wisdom is far beyond mine.

So, give me what you will
Send me where you want,
Bless me with places to serve,
And renew my desire to give myself away.

We hear ‘whatever’ as a disconnection, a cop out from confrontation.
But this year, I have (again) been reminded “whatever” can be a heartfelt response.
“Whatever, God. Give, take, bless, bring sorrow, or opportunity,
Or ask me to give everything away; I can do it because you are in me.

And that’s as close to a formula I’ve decided to get.
But now I have to get to work
And make sure I’m in the right place spiritually, and growing,
So whatever God sends this year, I will be ready to meet it with joy.

Scripture Corinthians 1:12-13
John 15:5