Epiphany:
The Gift of Receiving God

'Stories and Other Things Holy' Episode 12:

​

Watch 'Stories' on YouTube or Spotify​

Listen to "Stories' Here, or on your favorite podcast app

Support 'Stories' with Buy Me A Coffee​

Help Grow the Podcast: ​
​Write a Review of 'Stories'
on your favorite Podcast App!

(Apple, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Cast,
Castbox, iHeart Radio, etc.)

Epiphany Reflection

Do you remember that game many of us played as kids?

“You go first!”

“No, YOU go first!”

“Super NO—you go first!”

It seems God loves that old game—and what’s more, God really likes going first. So, seeing as how it is God and everything, maybe we ought to let God do what God loves to do: love us first.

How does the phrase go? *“You can’t give what you don’t have.”* We are asked to love the world and its people on behalf of God. But to respond to this sacred request and privilege, we must first allow ourselves to truly *be loved*—in all our poverty and incompleteness. This is paradoxically difficult. We ache to be loved, yet we are often terrified that this love may never genuinely manifest in our lives.

So, as with many significant moments and thresholds, we are invited to take a risk. To risk letting go—if only for a moment—of our defenses, anxieties, and worries, and to receive the lavish love God so eagerly desires to pour out on us.

At the dawn of this New Year, may we revel in God’s joy at “going first.” And may we honor that joy by becoming *really good receivers* of God’s boundless love and grace.

- Terry Nelson-Johnson

Grace-ercises

1. Be Present​
   The Latin word Adsum means, “I am present.” Perhaps this is our sacred task this week: to consciously, intentionally, and even awkwardly pause throughout the busyness of our dense days to Adsum—to be present. In that stillness, may we receive God’s inaugural and essential gift: the boundless, extravagant love poured out just for us.
   ​
2. Receive with Open Hands​
   This week, challenge yourself to receive with gratitude and openness. Whether it’s a compliment, an act of kindness, or even God’s love itself, practice saying “thank you” without deflection or hesitation. What shifts in you when you simply receive what’s being offered, no strings attached? Let this be a moment to marvel at the gift of receiving.

​storiesandotherthingsholy.com​

​​​​​​​​