Wrestling with the Word

We are learning to stop rushing toward answers. Instead, we listen. We sit with a single word or phrase long enough for it to shape us. We are not trying to master the word or explain it. We are trying to be honest about how it meets our life. We ask for a word not because we are lost, but because we are ready to be changed. The word was meant to be wrestled with and slowly grown into. One word may be enough. It might expose what we cling to or ignore. It might call us into deeper love or integrity. We are not looking for novelty, but for what is true. When we receive a word, we carry it like a mirror, checking ourselves daily. Then we wait, and listen again.

May we receive the word we are given,
wrestle with it honestly,
and grow into its truth with courage and patience.

(inspired by Christine Valters Paintner, Desert Fathers and Mothers)