Nurturing Christ-centred habits reminds me of a patchwork quilt. It’s like sewing together mismatched bits, often drawn from old, broken down parts of ourselves. The process is messy and often ugly. And in the end, a quilt is still made up of fragmented pieces. But somehow, it also becomes a beautiful, ordered pattern.
There’s so much freedom in spiritual transformation. God wants us, and He can redeem our scraps. The question at the heart of this issue is: How can our daily rhythms embody the truth that we are infinitely loved?
Of course, cultivating a life modelled after Jesus takes work and effort. Yet the theme resonating through these articles is that we have permission to be small and to need help.
This is the life Jesus lived on earth. It was limiting enough that the king of the universe became a human being. That He chose to be born as an infant and live as a poor and humble servant is mind-boggling.
Near the beginning of the pandemic, I grappled with my need for humility and my insecurity about how to live in this new world of isolation. God prompted these words as part of a longer poem:
You must be born, small,
Learn to live small, too.
Be weak, need rest, need help,
Be last, keep nothing,
And don’t forget
Who made your bones and soul.
This issue is filled with thoughtful reflections on what it looks like to live small as children of God. Our writers consider different aspects of what it means to love God, our neighbours, and ourselves day in and day out.
Josiah Piett’s article on showing up, listening, and being last powerfully points to how Christ lived on earth. Abby Ciona exposes the narrowness of our culture’s views of health and body image, reminding us of the fuller picture.
In this issue’s feature interview, J.M. Bergman shares her experiences of asking God tough questions about suffering and redemption, and how she discovered hope even in pain.
In the Flipside, William Dmytrow discusses disciplines of contentment in the wake of burnout, and Emily Ruth tells her story of using music to challenge the stigma around mental health.
Our prayer is that these articles fill you with hope and inspiration, and that your faith will be rejuvenated and strengthened. We have permission to bring the scraps of ourselves to the feet of God, trusting He will make all things new. To quote lyrics from “Time” by John Lucas, He is “the king who paints beauty with time.”
