It takes the sum total of a life journey to become, whole. Whole by definition means: “Entire. Complete. In an unbroken state.”
When I think of the word “whole” I see a pie.
Or a cake. Yes, I like sugar. I am kind of/sort of possibly related to Elf – for real (I have been referred to as “Elf’s Mother”). “We elves stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.” And I add in CAKE. Nothing like a whole homemade chocolate cake calling out to you! The irony of something whole is that it has to cut up into sections to be shared.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Wait. So I spend my life trying to become whole and then I am going to become like cake slices and be given away?
Yup.
“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
It seems to be an oxymoron to try to become all you were born to be – to become the sum total of all parts – to heal from brokenness – to become whole, only to then be given away.
In the simplest of thought processes, why does my amazing daughter go through all the work to make a homemade mouthwatering chocolate cake? It’s a long process from the very beginning to the epic end. Working at a job to make the money to go to the store to buy the ingredients, coming home to make the cake, putting it in a hot oven to bake, cleaning up messes along the way, and finally presenting it on a beautiful cake platter. Just to look at? No. TO EAT! She created it to share it.
It is much like our lives.
We learn and grow and change so that all those experiences can be passed on to others! Our lives are meant to be shared! “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you..” (2 Corinthians 12:15) I think if we can capture the essence of this, life will feel much more fulfilling and purposeful.
We were never meant to live this life out all alone.
Our lives were meant to intertwine with others so that they could enhance our life and we could enhance theirs. We learn from each other – from the failures and from the successes. It gives us much more grace with people when we realize that we are all working through the same stuff. We all struggle; we all are works in progress. Seriously, we should be cheering each other on, not tearing each other apart.
The greatest gift you can give yourself, is to actually give YOURSELF away! It really is the whole (pun intended) point of life.
For instance, I became a widow 15 years ago. I had NO idea what that journey would look like and NO idea how to walk it out. So I just did it. I can look back now and cringe at all my failures and all my ignorances. Should I just let all the experiences of that 15 year journey lay in waste? Should I just shelf it? I think not. I choose to share it! I take the sum total of the whole of the widow journey and I gladly give it all away. I share it with others now traveling the same road – I let the light shine on my failures and ignorances so that they will NOT have to fail or be without knowledge. I gladly cast my bread out on the water and I gladly spend myself to save others. THAT is the purpose of life. THAT is the reason to become whole.
If you can just see your life in all its perfect imperfections is YOUR gift to the world (to yourself, and to God) you will find SO much more reason and passion and drive to press on. It all matters! ALL of it!
Become a whole, and then give it away.
The joy is in the share! Stop viewing your life as an empty hole and see it as a beauti-FULL WHOLE. It is the BEST feeling in the whole world.
#LetThemEatCake