Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile,
but the things that come out are what defile.
—Mark 7.15
A beautiful diamond wedding ring
caked with mud
is still beautiful and valuable and precious
to her who wears it.
Your worth and loveliness
God created in you,
and you are adored
because you belong to God,
and nothing can take that away—
no abuse or misfortune,
no imagined “deserving,” no pain.
Only your own choices defile you.
And who can say how much of one’s pain,
and how one has learned to bear it,
is a choice, and how much is simply
what happens to you?
God wants most of all to heal you
of your shame.
Leave off judging,
starting with yourself.
Make choices that do not defile
your loveliness and that of all others.
You yourself are God’s diamond ring,
lovely and beloved,
even in the dark
gleaming on God’s hand.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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