A JAR OVERFLOWING
“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory" - Jn. 1
Today is the last day of 2019. As many of us prepare to ring in the new year, we also may be looking back over this past year, making an effort to recall all that we’ve accomplished, experienced, or felt. Was it a good year or a bad year? And can an entire year even be summed up as one or the other? Many people have been posting their “top 9” pictures on social media, and we may be tempted to compare our lives in the past year with others’. I know I struggle with that, but a tradition my former roommate, Christie, introduced into my life several years ago has been a pillar of my New Year’s Eve festivities and helps ground me in something more nourishing.
On Dec 31st, 2014, I was feeling pretty blue. I had no New Year’s parties to attend, and I felt so lonely. I didn’t want to just sit at home and watch a ball drop on a TV screen. I wanted to do something significant and new. Christie had just the thing… she took me and a couple other friends in her car and we drove up to a hiking trail. We did a midnight hike to ring in the new year, and then at the top of the hike, we laid out a blanket, popped some Martinelli’s and looked out over the city of LA and all of its twinkling lights.
“...the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” - John 1
She gave each one of us a mason jar. Inside my jar I found confetti, an index card with the word “Blessings” on it, another card with the words “Dreams & Goals”, and a third card with the following scripture passage:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
It was one of the most thoughtful and helpful things anyone had ever done for me. There we sat looking out at the new year as it expanded over the city, and I reflected on all the blessings in my life from 2013, and I was filled with hope for 2014. My blues dissipated, replaced by joy from gratitude and being in community, reminded of God’s goodness. Each year on New Year’s Eve since then, I’ve continued to fill my jar with a card of blessings and a card filled with hopes, dreams and goals. My jar is getting pretty full!
The readings these past several days since Christmas Day continually reference the Word, letting the Word dwell richly in us, the Word dwelling among us. So in my prayer I’ve been thinking a lot about what that means. How is the Word revealed to me? How is God, the Word-made-flesh, speaking to me, inviting me? What does it mean to let the Word dwell in me, that the Word dwells among me?
The image of the overflowing jar feels like an apt one in answering these questions. When I take the time to recall my blessings, the ways I’ve encountered God’s love for me, to listen to God speaking over me, that Beloved is my identity, I am filled, overflowing with love. I can’t help but pour that love out to others. To let ourselves be filled with God’s love, recalling, remembering, savoring experiences of God’s love and joy, is to let the Word dwell in us. And when we who are filled to the brim and overflowing, bring that love and joy to others, we see the Word dwelling among us. In the beginning was the Word… Love.
As you reflect on the end of 2019, where have you most felt God’s love for you? What ways has God blessed you? Where have you felt joy? Let those memories dwell richly in you. And as you look forward to 2020, what hopes, dreams, and goals do you have? Can you trust in God’s love for you, that He wants the very best for you, as you reflect on your deepest desires, inviting God into them? What ways do you hope to be poured out, to allow the Word to dwell among you in those around you in the new year?
Jessica Gerhardt