By Kat Goheen | Canada
I’ve been ordained in Community of Christ since I was a teenager, and this formed me as a disciple. My focus is often outward on the needs of others, as well as caring for our worship life. I felt like a giver; that was ministry to me.
When my first daughter was born, that changed. She invited me into her world as a full-time participant. I found I had little interest in or energy for the needs of others and no brain space for writing sermons. A shadow grew as I felt I was not being a good minister or disciple. In my head I knew that being was as important as doing, but in my heart, I feared I was not enough.
A few months after the birth, my friend, Linda, drove in from Chilliwack bearing a gift. It was a green prayer shawl she had knitted for me. I was humbled and so grateful. Not only had she prayed for us with each stitch, but the knitting ministers had also prayed over it before she brought it to us. This tangible act of love healed the place in my soul that saw myself as a “giver” and recentered myself as a child of God.
This well-loved, well-used prayer shawl stands as a gentle yet persistent reminder of God’s enduring and unconditional love for everyone, and for me. No shadow can stand before this love.
This prayer shawl is a tangible reminder of the blessings of community and of the beauty of receiving.
I hope that in my ministry since that time I have become gentler with myself and others. This prayer shawl is a tangible reminder of the blessings of community and of the beauty of receiving. I hope to remember this always!
We Are the Story
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