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Listen:
“Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and he was led by the Spirit to spend forty days in the desert, where he was tempted
by the devil.”
—LUKE 4:1-2 (PHILLIPS)
Reflect:
It’s hard to resist the pull towards something we know isn’t our best choice. There are those small pleasures we reach for when we need a little boost, like the bedtime doom scrolling or perfecting a Pinterest board that whispers, Escape is possible. Then there are those moments when we feel the urge to do or say something that doesn’t quite line up with our values. Those times when everything within us may rise up to say “Go ahead, it’ll feel amazing!” And maybe it does—for about five seconds. But those choices tend to over-promise and under-deliver. Sometimes, restraint, while annoyingly difficult, can be like a gift—not to the person who maybe did deserve your snappy comeback—but to your future self. The you who will be glad you held back, stayed true, and made space for grace to do its quiet work.
What is the hard thing you want to say no to, and what is the yes behind it that you want to carry forward?
Blessing:
Yes, we will grieve,
but not as those in denial.
We will suffer,
but not as those entombed in loneliness.
We will join the ranks of afflicted,
the weak, and the vulnerable.
We do it willingly. (Okay, not always.)
But we are being shown what is plastic and what is gold.
We are drawn forward by glimpses
Blessing to see clearly of something better—
a world where cruelty and injustice
cannot sustain themselves,
where the cycles of harm finally collapse
under their own weight.
Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it.
Blessed are we who now know the value
of what must be let go and what must be held tightly.
May we carry forward only what is true,
what is good, what is beautiful
trusting this: love never fails.
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