We are moving into the home stretch with the 52 Photos Project. Only 5 more prompts to be showcased for this year long project and it’s been loads of fun for me. This week we are sharing a gift that was given to us.
A few years ago I participated in a group counseling program called Healing Hearts. It was a program geared to help women find and heal the wounds in their story. At the end of the program, we were all asked to bring a gift that would be given anonymously to one of the other women in the group as an Ebenezer.
The idea is taken from Scripture where the nation of Israel set up a memorial to remind them of the help God provided them against their enemies. The gift we offered to each other was meant to remind us of the progress we had made in the program and of the promise we made to ourselves to care for our hearts better.
This Willow Tree figurine is called Surrounded By Love. At the time, it was perfect for me because it was intended to remind me that self-care was the first and best kind of love I can surround myself with in my life. I have not always been consistent with my self-care practices but this gift reminds me to keep trying even if I don’t get it right all the time.
I have it sitting on the mantle over my fireplace, ironically next to my OneWord365 for this year, RISK. Ironic, because at the time I went through the group I did not risk as much as I perhaps should have. I was paired with someone who was incredibly needy and that caused me to go into the role of caregiver. Taking care of others, often at my own expense, is a very familiar and comfortable role for me and I fell very easily into that space. Signing up for the program was a big step for me but being caretaker of this other person caused me to be on guard which ultimately led to my not getting as much out of it as I might have under other circumstances. I don’t know that I regret that decision. Sometimes, though, I do look at my little Ebenezer and I wonder how things might have been different if I had taken more of a risk then. But I’m learning to take more risks this year and living into my word more so I guess that means I’m making progress 🙂
As always I am super impressed by the pics from the other photographers. Click here to see this week’s gallery and as always leave some love for the other photogs when you visit. But before you go, I would love to know what’s the best gift you’ve ever been given?
Makeda's Musings 