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IN GOD'S IMAGE
JoAnn Streeter Shade
And we all, who with
unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into his image
with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is
the Spirit.
II Corinthians 3:18, TNIV
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Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the fairest of them all?
Snow White
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Who am I? When I
look in the mirror, who looks back at me? Do I see myself
primarily as a body shape, a role I fill, or the image I hope to
project? The following thoughts and questions will give guidance
to the woman wanting to better understand her self image in the
spiritual journey. Use them for personal reflection or for group
discussion.
The Lord said to
Jeremiah:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I set you apart.
Jeremiah 1:5 TNIV
Our Bodies
Remember . . .
Sit for a
while with the family photo albums from your childhood and
adolescence. Jot down some words to describe the child you see.
Examples: sassy, kind, scared, chubby, strong
What do you like
most about the girl-child you see?
Does anything
about her sadden you?
What do you like
most about the teenager you see?
What feelings do
the teen pictures bring back to you? Sit quietly for a few
moments with them, recognizing where you experience those
feelings in your body.
Did you have a
nickname as a child? How did your nickname make you feel?
What do you see
in the pictures that you see in yourself now?
Our Bodies
Know . . .
In exploring the question, “Who am I as a person?” we also are
challenged by, “How do I see myself as a woman?”
What messages
have you received about being a woman that have to do with your
appearance? Example: Wash your face, a girl shouldn’t be
dirty.
Concerning how
you act? Example: Girls shouldn’t climb fences.
Concerning how
you feel? Example: A woman needs a man to be happy.
How did—and how
do—these messages affect how you see yourself as a woman?
Example: I feel really weak (guilty, manipulative) if I cry.
Think of three
women who seem to be at home in their own skin as females.
Jot down at least five words to describe each of those
women. What is it that draws you to them?
In what situation
have you felt uniquely and distinctly feminine?
In what situation
have you felt the most pain as a woman?
In what situation
have you felt the most joy as a woman?
In what situation
have you felt most betrayed by your body?
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I think, analyzing it, that women take and conquer
sorrow differently from men. They take it willingly,
with open arms they blend and merge it into every
part of their lives;
it is diffused and spread into every fiber,
and they build from that and with that.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1973)
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Writing
in Mother of Pearl, Melinda Haynes describes a six-sided
woman as one who sees, hears, tastes, smells, feels, and knows.
Use that framework to fill in the following chart with whatever
comes to mind:
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I see... |
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I hear... |
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I taste... |
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I smell... |
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I feel... |
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I know... |
Our Bodies
Seek . . .
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So we settle in, hunker down,
go through many layers of ourselves until we reach
far below the surface.
Kathy Coffey
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In
Transformation Soup, Sark teaches us to do mirror work.
Begin by staring into a mirror for many moments, without
preparing to go somewhere, or to see “how you look,” or to fix
your hair, look at your skin, or put on makeup. See what you
see; as is. Go deeper. Speak to yourself in the mirror and say,
“How are you, really?” Jot down any thoughts
or emotions.
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I come
down here, Lord, cause I ain’t got no where else to
go.
I come down here knowing I ain’t got no right, but I
got a heavy need.
I’m suffering so, Lord; my body is heavy like I’m
carrying a stone.
I come to ask you to move the stone, Jesus.
Please move the stone!
Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander |
Meditate on a
Gospel narrative that involves a physical seeking. Suggested
passages are Mary of Bethany, anointing Christ’s feet (John 12),
or the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe (Luke 8). Using
your senses, enter the story.
What do you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and feel?
What posture do
you assume?
What physical
expression can you make to seek a closer connection to Christ?
Our Bodies
Delight . . .
“God delights in
you" (Zephaniah 3:17). What is your reaction to that statement?
Look in the
mirror and see reflected there,
A glimpse of the glory of God,
Made in his image, a face filled with light,
Affirmed as his blessed child.
For you are loved with an everlasting love,
Fearfully and wonderfully made,
The Lord your God takes great delight in you,
And he’ll be faithful to complete the work
He’s set in motion in you,
You are the Lord’s beloved child of grace.
jas
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Here’s the thing, say
Shug. The thing I believe.
God is inside you and inside everybody else. You
come into the world with God. But only them that
search for it inside find it.
And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you
are not looking,
or don’t know what you’re looking for.
Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, Lord.
Alice Walker
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I delight greatly in
the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10 TNIV
Just as God
delights in us, we too can delight in his creation and in his
being. Try your hand at a haiku of delight (three-line poetry
with 5-7-5 syllables).
Our Bodies
Respond . . .
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Lasting
passion is not the result of physical pleasure and
stimuli.
Rather, passion is an inner source of energy that
flows
out into every aspect of your being.
It is not something you possess.
You don’t have passion.
You don’t get passion.
You don’t even find passion.
Passion finds and possesses you, once you relax and
surrender yourself to it, and let what you don’t
know you know come to the surface.
Passion happens to you when you let go of your need
to be in control . . .
Passion is born out of a commitment to live life to its
fullest, knowing how to jump at the chance to join a
celebration, being willing to mourn with those who
mourn, and throwing yourself into every experience
as if it’s your last.
Renita Weems (2000) |
The following
provides ways in which we can join the dance,
experiencing ourselves, body and soul, in healthy and holy ways.
Prayer Postures
Letting go and
receiving
Begin with hands in lap, palms down, fingers gently spread, as a
posture of letting go. It is difficult to hold onto anything
with our hands in this position. Pray that you might let go of
anything that is keeping you from God.
When you are ready, turn your hands over, so that they are open
to receive. Pray that you might be open and ready to receive
whatever the Lord desires to give you today.
Praying as you
breathe
Quiet your body and mind before the Lord. As you continue to
breathe normally, begin to pray. As you breathe in, think of God
breathing into you. As you breathe out, release whatever you
need to release. You can use phrases such as:
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I
breathe out anxiety |
Come, Holy Spirit |
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I
breathe out anger |
Come, gentle Spirit |
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I
breathe out frustration |
Come, joyful Spirit |
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I
breathe out worry |
Come, restful Spirit |
Praying with
one hand open, one hand closed
As you pray, do so with one hand held palm up, open to the
mystery of faith, of who God is, and of what you don’t know.
Hold your other hand with fist clenched, holding on tightly to
what you do know, the promise of Scripture, the presence of God,
and the community of faith.
Praying with
cupped hands
Hold your hands together, cupped, as though catching raindrops
from the sky, symbolizing your openness to what God will
provide.
Praying with
hands reaching up
Symbolic of your willingness to follow the path as it is
revealed, and to both reach up and out, lift your hands with
open palms to the heavens.
More Ideas
Walk a labyrinth
Spend 24 hours
totally alone
Draw or paint a
self-portrait
Write a letter
from God to you, describing how proud he is of you, his beloved
child
Listen to Kim
Hill sing, Holy, You Are Still Holy. Picture yourself
moving to her words: “I come into your chamber and I dance at
your feet, Lord.” Get on your feet and let your body express
your worship
Sing the song you
truly want to sing out loud, even if only in the shower!
Catch glimpses of
yourself in mirrors. What does your posture, expression, dress,
and grooming have to say about who you are?
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