There Shall a Star - The Receiving

It's the first Sunday of the year, Epiphany Sunday. It's the day we celebrate the coming of the Magi, the following of a star, and the manifestation of Christ to the world.

2012

There are many traditions surrounding Epiphany, some of them holy, some not so holy (like fruitcake throwing contests). My church has an Epiphany Sunday tradition where stars are handed out during the service. Each star is about 5 inches across and has a word written on it. We draw them out of a basket, not knowing what the word is. The word is meant to inspire thought and reflection, perhaps point us to something we need to work on or encouragement as we deal with situations throughout the year, basically give us one more way for the Spirit to communicate.

When I first started attending Westminster, I thought this was a fun tradition but didn't put much stock into it. It felt too much like horoscopes that are so vague, they could be applied to anything or like the word searches that I see circulate Facebook around this time of year. You know, the ones that say, the first three words that you see will characterize your year (by the way, supposedly, my year will be have love, money and time. Does that mean I will meet the man of my dreams, he'll be rich, and I can quit my job and just sell knitwear on the internet?).

Some of the words I've gotten in the past, no matter how I looked at them or thought about them, I just couldn't seem to find any applicable meaning to them. Words like Forbearance (2010); what exactly does forbearance mean? Was I supposed to be forbearing or was someone going to be forbearing to me? Same with Sympathy (2006). I like to think I'm a sympathetic person. But do I just think it or am I really? I don't even remember what words I got in the first couple of years at Westminster; I didn't keep them like I have the last eight.

For the last few years, the stars have been almost painfully accurate. Like the year I got Harmony (2009). Everyone at church told me, "Oh, how appropriate, a singer like you getting Harmony." Except I knew it had absolutely nothing to do with music and I was not looking forward to it. The day before we got our stars, I had been told some news by one family member that I knew would not be exactly welcomed with open arms by the rest of the family. The next six months were sometimes tense as our entire family navigated a new reality and I often felt put in the middle, trying to keep us harmonious, trying to be supportive and understanding of both sides.

2013

Or two years ago, when I got Restfulness (2012). It came as a confirmation that I had made the right choice to bow out of a few of my activities, simplify things. Also, that I needed to make my living space more restful (still working on that. Oh, and the actual getting more rest so I can be full of rest).

Last year, I got Caring (2013). When someone needed a safe place, somewhere to rest their head and get their feet under them, it was a no-brainer to let them have the guest room. I don't feel like it was much and I wish I could do more. I wish I could make all of this person's problems go away because I hate seeing them sad and frustrated and I want them to be able to live their life the way they want to, the way they deserve to.

Sometimes, the Epiphany Stars suck because they make you think and look deep, into your soul and your life. They can cause confusion and annoyance. A word can fill you with dread and worry, wondering what it means for the year. They can make you mad. At those times, I think it is important to remember, it is just a word and there's no way of knowing if it will have any affect on your year.

I look forward to getting my Epiphany Star every year. I usually don't make New Year's resolutions but I do like to have a theme for the year and the Epiphany Star is an easy way to determine the theme.

I'm not sure yet what to think of my word/theme for this year.

2014