During Epiphany – the season between Christmas and Lent – we rejoice for all the ways that God reveals God’s self to us. The Epiphany season began last week as we shared the story of the magi, the wisemen following a star in the sky in order to find Jesus and present gifts to the infant King. Many of us long for a star to follow, something to guide us towards Jesus and help us do what God calls us to do.
In church today at St. Luke’s, those present were given a card with a word on it, a random word from a list curated for this very occasion – a star word. We’ve engaged in this prayer practice at least once before at St. Luke’s, allowing God to guide us towards Jesus through a word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you weren’t able to be at church today, if you joined online, or if you were at church and the word you got isn’t working for you, use this wheel in order to receive a star word for 2025. Write the word down and place it somewhere you will see it often. Let this word be a mechanism through which God can speak to you. Let this word open your eyes and your heart so that you can see all that God is up to in your life, that God is present and active in your life. Star words are a good way to LISTEN to God, which is a practice a bit harder to wrap our minds around than talking to God.
When I spun the wheel to test it for a colleague, I got the word ENOUGH, and already the Holy Spirit has had a lot of different things to say to me through this one word. You might have noticed in my email about the little drummer boy and the lesson he teaches that all our gifts are enough in the eyes of God.
Disclaimer! If this doesn’t work for you, this doesn’t mean you are a bad person or that God isn’t active in your life. Not every prayer practice or Christian discipline works for every person. Other faith practices that don’t work for everyone: communion. singing. fasting. If your star word doesn’t work for you but you’d like to try something else, be in touch. I’m happy to talk with you about other options.
Peace – Jessica
