by Ruth Mills

I became a believer when I selected my very first star back in 2010 (I think that was the year!).That year the stars were cut from a foam sheet. I selected the top green one since green is my color. We were told to keep them face down until everyone in the congregation had one. When we were finally told to turn them over, I was amazed. Mine said, “Write.” I was sure divine providence sent that star my way. I love to write.

I have received an epiphany star every year since. Some have resonated more than others. Listen..Clarity..Instruct..Sympathy..Strength..Solitude. Obedience..Imagination..Quietness. This year’s star (2024) says “Discernment.”

In January 2020, my star said, “Singing.” I feared John, our choir director, was going to talk me into singing solos, something that is way out of my comfort zone. When everything closed down in March of 2020 due to Covid, I figured I was going to get away scot-free. The joke was on me! That year we recorded services that were made available online. I was recruited several times to sing. At least it was just sound. No one took a video.

In 2021, because we were still not gathering in the church, the star distribution was a little different.Rev. Eileen gave us four words to choose from. We could make our own stars at home and put the word we selected on them. I don’t recall what the four choices were but I remember what I selected: Unity.It was just a few days after the U.S. Capitol was attacked by self-proclaimed patriots. Our country seemed to be coming apart and a focus on unity made sense.

Then there is the Epiphany Star that I received in 2019, the one that inspired me to write this. The word was WHOLENESS. I certainly understood the dictionary definition but I could not grasp how to apply it to my life. At choir practice the following Thursday, John had us share what words we had drawn. I told them my word and said I could not relate to it. Everyone tried to help but I still felt unsatisfied.

I pondered wholeness off and on over the next few months, wondering why this simple word was such a mystery to me.Then in late summer, I was watching GoodMorning America. Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, one of my favorite shows, was being interviewed. Among the things discussed was the upcoming fall issue of her magazine, Magnolia Journal. The issue was devoted to the idea of wholeness. In no time I had my own copy. I devoured it.

Satisfaction at last!I am so glad I picked this word and had to struggle with it, making it much more valuable. And that is the whole idea. The struggles, challenges, failures, poor choices, and imbalances in our lives are the very things that can help us to become better people. Wholeness is not celebrating our dirty laundry but it is about accepting the lessons learned from all the parts of our lives, good and bad. Wholeness is gratitude, forgiveness, celebration, relief, and finding a path forward.

One page of the magazine features an ancient Japanese art form called kintsugi, or golden repair.Broken ceramics are mended, not with invisible glue, but with gold dust and lacquer,
creating beautiful new designs.We can learn to quit fretting about the cracks and broken pieces. We can learn to appreciate the beauty that has been created in us. We can learn to accept ourselves as God’s work in progress.Shattered piece by chipped piece, we are made whole, beautifully.

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)