Enough, Enough
Embody Faith || Weekly Devotional
The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. God will create calm with God’s love; the Lord will rejoice over you with singing.
- Zephaniah 3:17
As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded of the value of abundance. I sometimes struggle with believing that I am enough, I have enough, and I’m doing enough. There’s a general cloud of feeling like I’m lacking in some capacity (or every capacity). I don’t think I’m alone in that struggle - especially during the holiday season.
We find our minds bombarded with thoughts like,
I didn’t plan well enough
I wasn’t a good enough friend or mother or partner
I didn’t do enough
I’m not grateful enough
Am I doing enough to serve others? What more can I do? Did I make enough food? What am I forgetting?
Wow, friend. That is a lot of weight on your shoulders. If you don’t mind, I’d like to slowly and gently lighten the load.
Your inherent worthiness does not come from what you do. It comes from who you are.
Nobody will love you any less if your table isn’t perfectly decorated or the turkey is a little dry. And nobody will love you more even if it does come out beautifully.
You are enough.
You are doing enough.
You are Beloved.
Full stop.
No amount of doing (or not doing) will change the truth of your inherent belovedness.
God loves you for who you are.
Not for what you do.
And so do all the people around you who matter most.
That doesn’t mean we aren’t called to be grateful, generous, and kind. It just means that we are loved regardless. It also means that God’s love shows up whether the turkey is perfect, burnt, or perfectly burnt.
This holiday season, give yourself a little more grace. You are doing enough. And, more importantly, you are enough.
Let’s pray,
God of love, thank you for the opportunity to be in good company - whether it is in person, or just in spirit. Thank you for the village of people around us who remind us of what you know to be true: we are so very loved. Amen.
Close your eyes and bring your palms together in a prayer position. Keep your palms pressed together and lift your hands up to rest your thumbs on your forehead as a reminder to think from a place of love, compassion, and kindness towards others and towards yourself. Keep your palms together and lower your hands so your thumbs rest on or near your lips as a reminder to speak from a place of love, compassion, and kindness towards others and towards yourself. Keep your palms together and lower your hands so your thumbs rest on or near your heart as a reminder to act from a place of love, compassion, and kindness towards others and towards yourself.
Advent is such a beautiful time to center our spirits in the waiting of the Christ child and rekindle a faith that might be feeling a bit burnt out. Visit our advent page on our website for a variety of resources at different price points, that can be used individually, as a family, or even for a congregation.
We are still taking a break on the podcast, but we hope to have it back up and running in the new year! In the meantime, you can always listen to our archive of amazing episodes:
Open your heart. Listen to some Good News. Fill your well.
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Experiencing God
I see God every time I watch Gabe run up to his brother and say, “Here, Sammy! Here! I got this for you! Here, Sammy! Here you go!” I love watching them together. They hug all the time and it’s the best.
Embracing Color
I promise to do a longer post about this at some point, but I have been embracing more color in my life and in my wardrobe especially, and it is bringing me a lot of joy!
JIF Snappers
These JIF Snappers are literally the best snacks ever. Pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate? So good. (They cost way too much money where I just linked them; I got them at Costco for $9, and then for $5 when they went on sale).
Amen