Belated Epiphany . . .
Belated because, so often, words only come when they’re ready. Or is it when we’re ready?
Shadowing the Magi
Tingling, needy, marked
by the long quest—the divining,
then hope, my superstitions
giving way yet again
before anxious relief—this is how
I enter. Taking a knee,
it seems you scarcely breathe.
Does each intake feel
like your first? Maybe
we both look struck, luminous
as the baby’s skin,
starlight still pulsing there. Hush,
friend, the holy has come
so gently we dare approach.
*
Dear ones, I hope your days are unfolding gently.
Each January I seek a word or phrase expansive enough to guide me throughout the year. Then I line up my lettering pens, print out my theme. Mirror, journal, dashboard, fridge; a pocket, a purse—I spread my reminders around.
But last year, nothing. Several months passed. When would the words come?
Although belated, I chose a single letter, instead. There’s a story, of course: “Alphabet of Presence.” (I hope you’ll read it here: Abbey of the Arts.)
So, amid last year’s viral mayhem, cutthroat opinions, and global grief, I became a disciple of “B.”
Oh, I hope you’ll try it! Once you settle on a letter, you’ll find invitational words pop up everywhere: media, billboards, conversations. Surprise livens the day. Sometimes, it’s downright heady, like sipping chilled champagne, little stars among your teeth, on your tongue, all down your throat.
A word is a launch pad. Are you game? For starters, borrow a few of mine that start with “B.”
Watch the classic movie, “Babette’s Feast” (free here).
Listen to “Be Thou My Vision,” sung by Audrey Assad, or Selah, respectively,
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Optrm7lF16s
and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKByTfiHOFE
Bestow a kindness. This passage has inspired many a prayer, email, and letter:
“The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted … to comfort all who mourn … to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:1-3).
Create a collage. Repurpose images beginning with your letter of choice, using old photos, magazines, junk mail.
Compose lyrics for a tune you love. I piggybacked mine on “Morning Has Broken”:
Beauty before me, Beauty behind me,
bridging our spirits, bountiful Lord;
Brimming within me, moving beside me,
timelessly guide me, forevermore.
Practice breath prayers. Are you grieving? This one helps me:
(on the inhale) Alone, yes, (exhale) but never abandoned.
Ponder questions like these:
What blessed me today?
Who blindsided me?
Where am I broken?
What might yet be born, and what must I bury?
Whether my idea was belated or perfectly timed, I found choosing a letter provided spontaneous, small epiphanies throughout a long, difficult year. And whenever I get bored, there are 25 more.
But . . . I’ve yet to exhaust the beauties of “B.”
There is always a journey. Sometimes, a cave. Often, a star.
*
In closing, here’s what I hope I’d have said, had I joined the Magi that day:
Take my coat, little one,
you’re shivering. How new,
this now we share, the first
of many yet to be known—by you,
by me—slowly, slowly going
home, by a different way.
Friends, if you choose a letter, I’d love to hear about your experience.
And please, if you’d enjoy more posts similar to this one (ideas, resources, links), let me know . . .
Explore “Alphabet of Presence” here: Abbey of the Arts
You might also enjoy Epiphany and the Epic Icicle
Lastly, welcome, new subscribers! I’m so glad you’re here.
And thank you to all who’ve journeyed with me for so many years.
Magi Photo by Michael Payne on Unsplash
Apologies for the incorrect citation of scripture, and thank you, Lynn, for alerting me!
Collage and “B” photo, by yours truly :>)
Laurie, you probably already know this B-eautiful song, but I still wanted to share it as a tribute to your Best Beau, and mine. They melody and lyrics are lovely. Kate Smith does the honors singing Jerry Herman’s wonderful song, “My Best Beau,” from Mame. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kate+smith+my+best+beau
Oh, delightful! I just listened to it. Thank you so much, Lynn. Let’s bring back the word beau . . .what do you think?
I’m even more belated (if there’s such a thing?) with a word this year, Laurie, but I can sense something forming, feel myself reaching for something—a word? a phrase? or maybe a letter as you so beautifully describe? For now, I’m content to sit with this sense of unfolding, and see what this new year brings. Perhaps as you say, “words only come when they’re ready. Or is it when we’re ready?”
Hi April, so lovely to hear from you, thank you. I admire your stance: To “sit with this sense of unfolding, and see . . .” To this ear, that sounds humble, trusting, and beautifully patient.
Wishing you health and great joy and productivity in this new year!
Oh my goodness, I completely love your tender poem (not to mention the whole concept and post):
“—slowly, slowly going
home, by a different way.”
I’m looking forward to reading the Abbey of the Arts post and seeing what letter/word/concept I might choose.
Thank you so much for this refreshment; you’ve done it again. 😉
Bethany, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you’ll let me in on what unfolds for you.
Today I tried to leave a comment on TS about “First Grade” and the other marvelous poem about the swing, but it bounced back. I was so GLAD to see both of them! You open a door to your life and invite me in via all my senses.
For anyone reading these comments, you can read Bethany’s marvelous poems here: https://momsonpoetry.com/tag/bethany-rohde/
So delighted you found refreshment here today!
Oh, bless you, Laurie! And thank you, I’m truly grateful to know you.
And I, you. Absolutely mutual!
So delightfully inspiring, Laurie. You gave me a V-8 moment, as I thought of the years when a single word didn’t present itself in December or January: I could have chosen a letter! As it happens, REVERENCE will be my focus-word for 2022. But thanks to you I now have a strategy in my back pocket for those years when I end up empty-worded! One idea that will certainly inspire our right brains, whether we’re focused on a letter or a word: creating a collage or montage. Don’t know what that will look like for REVERENCE, but I’m looking forward to God showing me!
A V-8 moment, love that. : )
And what an inviting star word for ’22!
Just thinking, I would enjoy seeing or hearing about what unfolds — be it homage / bricolage / collage / montage (even a reverently swept garage).
Lively, lovely new year to you. I’ll be watching your blog for clues. . .
Bodacious Brendemuehl buying buying big bottles of bubble bath
Oops, I thought I answered this, sorry. I am trying to say it 10 times as fast as I can . . .
Bodacious Brendemuehl buying buying big bottles of bubble bath
Hey, it worked! Thank you for persevering.
Bumbling lover of bubbles that I am, whether blown, or sipped, or bathed in, this is perfect!
Dear sweet Laurie, your collage is Beautiful just like you.
Gail, my friend and fellow artist, thank you. That means a lot. There’s something so rewarding about piecing together a new (somehow deepened?) expression from torn edges and scraps. Throwaways. Earlier this morning I was thinking about the loaves and fishes, and the Teacher who cherished leftovers: crumbs and bones, opalescent scales. I imagine his joy: “Break out the baskets. Sweep the hillside. Gather them in.”
This post and the responses; so calming and soothing and encouraging. Choosing a letter will open the door to living in the moment. A letter citing…
Such a fun gift to anticipate. I think I will choose C.
Thanks to all for sharing.
Dear Roberta, YES, so well said. The delicious jingle of one more small key (on what must be an endless ring) to “open the door to living in the moment.”
“C” . . . oh, the possibilities . . . 🙂
Lovely, Learned, enLivening Laurie. Thank you friend!
Wow, I just might fall in love with “L” next!
ps The second stem unfurled four more blooms — eight pristine trumpets, in all. Your gift keeps delighting me, day after day. As does your friendship.
In April of 2019 I turned 60.
On January 1 of that year, I started my journal with a word.
Then January 2, another word.
It was going to be 103 days until my birthday.
103 words to 60.
Some were repeats – Look, Want, Now, Hope, Know, Found, Home and Remember.
I purposed to keep it simple.
At 60, I would then start a new cycle of those 103 words.
I titled it, “103 to 60, and Beyond.”
Everyday I carry that days word.
And read that days journal entry from 2019.
103, on repeat.
Some days it’s a skim.
Others, it’s a dig.
Lately its been too much skim only.
Your thoughts shared through words echo and challenge.
Especially this week.
Todays Word?
Intimacy.
In-To-Me-See.
It always takes me to Psalm 27:8’ – When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Once again, thank you.
B-Loved.
“103, on repeat (skim / dig).” A kind of soul mathematics, made sacred. The original countdown inviting increase, day after day, year after year. Perhaps . . . exponential?
I feel nudged.
For one thing, you’ve given me a fresh take on numbers. (I barely squeaked through Geometry, weaseled out of anything “higher,” ever-after.)
Time to shake off that old failure.
So the sense I get from your practice, the numbered, annual passage — by date, and by word (view & review?) — intrigues me. Stirs me. It places such value on any day’s given word as worthy of reunion. I love this!
And “intimacy,” hyphenated this way, just . . . wow. How tenderly fresh, the interior vista, glimpsed via verse 8.
As ever, thank you.
I read your Monk submission.
Again, thank you.
Oh, thank you. What a happiness for me. I am taking it with me as I head into the sunny back forty on snowshoes . . .
I ♥️ the idea of one-letter. It must be remarkable to see where God leads you everyday.
Dear Barb, it is! Poising the soul’s radar dish to sweep my surroundings somehow calls out the kid in me, keeps me primed for the next surprise. Like playing Hide ‘n Seek.
I just googled remarkable: “unusual or surprising, striking, worthy of attention, noticeable, extraordinary.”
So thank you for that word today. You’ve inspired me to further question my “why.” And I’m thinking that watching/listening for a single letter somehow stirs spontaneity, even joy, alongside attentive living.
Beatitude, basilica, Beethoven, Benign, Begin, Be strong, Be weak, Be crying, Be honest, Behold. Beheld…
I love the exercise of, “What would you hope to say had you joined the Magi that day “.
That will be an exercise in my Jan Term course this week.
Thank you Beloved friend. You continue to inspire, ignite, encourage, and reveal.
Oh, what gorgeous words and wise admonitions, thank you! I’ve always loved Benedicite, too.
What a cool idea to share the Magi scene that way with your class. Let me know how the exercise goes?
I love you, dear Judy. I am receiving those encouraging verbs with joy and asking them to boomerang back and wrap around you . . .
I’ve never thought of choosing a letter, but what a delightful idea! My word this year is Release. But I guess I could have just chosen “R” and seen all the variety of things it would bring with it. Love this.
Release. What a marvelous word to carry. So layered, active, suggestive of various tempos. And other “re” words. A verb magnet, perhaps? Thank you for sharing it. Just wondering: Do you ever find that the guiding word takes in occasional strays?
Yes, my word most definitely strays! Every year. 🙂 My image of how it will work out is always too limited. I love making plans for it, but I have to hold them loosely.
Oh, I so understand. Planning lights me up, too. And look, you’re already inhabiting “release,” right here, in the comment box, holding things loosely.
And that’s a good word for me, this month. Thank you!
Love it, wonderful thoughts captured in beautiful words.
Mike, thank you so much for being here. A comment is always a gift.
Glad you enjoyed the post!
Beautiful Laurie, what a bounteous post of blessedness midst all the bellicosity and banality that is our world at present. You always bend over backwards to breathe benediction into every post. You never brandish your words like biting swords, but free them to soaring like butterflies. Your words are never ones of banality, braggadocio, botheration. Your beliefs set benchmarks in beauty and blessing. Thank you, and Happy Belated 2024. May it be more blissful than the last!
xo
Love
Lynn
PS Love your essay at the Abbey and your poignant retelling of your grief. Oh, the healing power of the arts to help staunch the tide of grief. I had a similar experience, ten days after Daddy died, with collage–as if God took all my heartbroken parts and rearranged them into something different, but colorful and beautiful.
PS PS Loved that image of stars tickling teeth image!
PS PS PS A bit confused over the juxtaposition of the Deut. reference and the actual quote from Is.
Lynn, first of all, THANK YOU for catching that incorrect reference. Fixed now. Careless of me to have not double-checked that via providing a link.
What a delight, your bevy of “B” words. Such bounty! And oh, I long to breathe benediction (laced with a dash of brio!), especially these days.
It’s always deeply lovely to hear from you, my friend. Thank you, too, for your beautifully rich Christmas letter this year!
Love to you,
Laurie
Thank you all around! From an author whom I greatly admire, I do so appreciate your warm words. AND I obviously had fun w/ those Bs! I shall never think of this bounteous (if bulbous! 🙂 ) letter in the same way again!
Blessings on your NY, with a Big, Beautiful B!!
xo
L
PS I’ve not chosen a letter, but a word: FINISH. Of course, there is the concept of belles lettres, but that’s another story. 🙂
That is one. great. word.
And belles lettres are two more that I love.
And . . . here’s to (the perhaps unintended) grin you’ve also given me: a year with “a Big, Beautiful B”: which makes me think of Dreamer, my 6’4″ Bill, currently waiting on me to zip on my parka and strap on snow shoes.
Heading out with a kiss blown over my shoulder. Catch it!
Ha! You have your very own Big Beautiful B of a Beau! Enjoy him and your nature walk!
A setting of the compass. Realigning with true north. A needle rubbed on a magnet and gently laid on water will point North. No it won’t sink. Thank you for reminding us to do so.
Susan, if ever I knew that needle trick, it must be tucked in an old science file at the back of my brain.
I picture it floating in my sink (‘cuz you KNOW I’m going to go try this as soon as I log off here), confounding gravity, showboating buoyancy (in over my head now) . . . If I were that needle, would a shiver pass through me? a small dazzle of static?
Oh my goodness Laurie…. this was the loveliest inhale/exhale to partake of!
I’ve also been bereft of a Spirit – led “word for the year” and finally settled on Jesus (posted a photo and my small reflection on FB a week or so ago).
There is no other anchor to hang on to these days….choosing a word seemed almost audacious, you know? As in, how can we possibly know anything about this always-changing future of ours?!
But the idea of a letter–I love it.
I might steal ‘B’–thanks for the permission, friend. And oh, Babette’s Feast–I saw it nearly 30 years ago at a Bible Study I attended. What a powerful film.
Thanks for the Alphabet of Presence tip–I’ll need to look for that.
Sending love your way.
Dear Jody, it’s a pleasure to think of you breathing alongside, for a while.
Thanks for sharing where you alit, which feels bold and beautifully simple. Focused as a laser.
I can’t imagine a better word to choose than The Name. Let me know what unfolds if you also experiment with a letter?
Love you!