Imagine. Believe. Surrender.

Imagine. Believe. Surrender.

Those three words have been swirling around in my head for the last few weeks. I did not choose these particular words to study and reflect on. They were words that were parts of assignments to me. Two of them, “imagine” and “believe” were key words in the scriptures that were assigned to me for our Advent-Epiphany Devotionals. “Surrender” was part of my preparation for our class tonight on John Ortberg's “God is Closer than you Think.”

In preparing to write the devotionals and co-teach the class, I played with the words and took them apart. I looked at the etymology and the words that make them up and words that are related to them.

Imagine. Imagination. Image. God’s image.
Believe. Be and live. Be love. Beloved.
Surrender. Sur (below) and render (give back).

These three have worked on me lately, and I cannot explain it. Is it a coincidence or a God-incident? Is God speaking to me through my thoughts about these words that were assigned to me? Tonight, I wrote the words down and meditated on them. I thanked God for the gift of the Holy Spirit moving within me. And I received a gift. Yes, received! A fourth word that completes the cycle of grace. Now look at this:

Imagine. Believe. Surrender. Receive.

During this week, my thoughts and prayers have involved the Women’s Emmaus Walk taking place this weekend in Ashland. In fact, I am guest-blogging because Kim and Mary are on the leadership team for the Walk. They will help lead other pilgrims who are on a journey to becoming more Christ-like. It is a weekend focused overflowing with grace. The four words describe, in a way, what happens on the Emmaus Walk.

Dear God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, I pray for Your guidance for all involved in the Women’s Walk. I pray that they imagine what You have in store for them, that they believe it is theirs, that they surrender to the possibilities, and that they receive Your richest blessings, beyond what they could anticipate or imagine. Amen.

De colores!