Holey, Wholly, Holy

I loved the Rudolph movie as a child. And I particularly like the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph ends up in this space with a whole bunch of toys that feel like they don’t fit in. The burden on their spirit is astounding. They all wish for something to be that cannot be because others cannot accept the unique gifts that they have to offer outside of the societal expectations.

Have you ever felt like that misfit? No matter what you do or say you just can’t fit into the space you have been given? You wander, longing for that space of total acceptance.

Friends, there is a place where you are loved and accepted – seen with sacred worth – by your Creator. God made you in God’s image. That image may not measure up to a human standard of God’s image. Society tells us that we have to have a trim, toned body, enjoy hobbies only the extremely wealthy can participate in, take jobs that give status, and in general grow into a specific kind of person.

There’s a song sung by Rise Against called “Little Boxes”. It exposes the expectations society places upon us to live our lives in a certain way. The main theme: we are all put in boxes and we come out all the same.

But that’s not reality, is it? Some people do okay in the boxes. Some even thrive. But for the majority of us, that’s just deceptive, damaging imagery that breaks us down like rain falling on cardboard. We are left feeling like tomorrow’s recycling left exposed during a rain storm.

I truly don’t believe this is how God created us. This human-made rhetoric is filled with nonsense that separates us from the Divine spark in each of us. It is only when we are true to ourselves that we can begin to embrace this spark to build the warmth of a fire.

As we build our community, we invite you to embrace your spark. You may be so beaten down that it’s hard to find. But if you are still reading, I also expect you have been sheltering that piece of yourself that others have been fighting to extinguish and that spark is waiting for the perfect combination of oxygen, fuel, and heat.

We hope you’ll join us on November 9 at 7:30pm (EST) on Facebook live. Look for holey, wholly, holy and follow us for notifications about the event. You will be invited to share what your spark may be – what brings joy, what we are thankful for, what we love about ourselves. And hopefully, you will find a space where you are no longer a misfit, but seen as a vital part of our community with gifts to share at the table.