2015-2016: A Fierce Flourishing
Bible Verse for the year: "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." ~ Isaiah 55:12
Sometimes we need new eyes. A perspective shift that recalibrates our hearts to the rhythm of God’s goodness surrounding us. To tune our hea
rts to better hear the music of the divine echoing throughout this world. That we might let that goodness seep into our bones and into our hearts so we can remember what it feels like to flourish. We think flourishing looks a lot like:
Celebrating Lavishly: Celebrating breathes life into our days. Could it be that commemorating moments might help us to become more alive, to remember what is good and become masterful at recognizing it? How would life change to regularly invite friends into our stolen moments with uninhibited dancing and the best food, while gathered around the biggest table with the deepest conversations? Lavish celebrations can be sacred markers that help remind us who we are. Embracing Rest: Perhaps it is time to let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as a measure of worth. What if one of the most life-giving activities that would contribute to our flourishing is welcoming rhythms of rest and play into our lives? Creating healthy rhythms in our life is one way we nourish the weary spots in our soul. Noticing Goodness: Could it be possible that we don’t need new things but rather new eyes to see what we already have? What if we regained our sense of vision, an acute resolve to find hope in the cracks and mire of the mundane? Noticing what is good gives us the gift of perspective and reminds us the sacred is closer than we think. We become more ourselves when we celebrate, rest and notice, and that looks a lot like flourishing. But this flourishing isn’t the precious or exhausting kind. This is a fierce flourishing. It is a deep-in-your-guts experience of gratitude and hope compelling you to raise your hands and dance freer than you ever have before. It is a fierce protection of your most important moments, an invitation to rest and an opportunity to enjoy the people who are right in front of you. This year at MOPS, may we become a home for found wanderers, redeemed prisoners, explorers at the edge of their comfort – all of us who were one-time captives now celebrating our unearned freedom, because we have regained the eyes to see. May this year unfold into radical expressions of your own unique Fierce Flourishing.
