Wholeness
Today is February 2nd. My goodness! Wasn’t Christmas only yesterday?
Almost every year, I begin the new year in my blog with a look at the “word” or phrase I believe God has given me for the upcoming year. I incorporated this spiritual practice over 20 years ago. I hope you’ll read more about my 2026 word.
Each October, I begin asking the Lord to reveal my “word.” Occasionally, it emerges before I ask, and on occasion, the word hasn’t come into focus until sometime in January. Over these past years, it brought joy to my heart to hear that this practice resonates with you, and I loved it when you shared your “word.”
In October 2025, I began asking God for a “word,” and numerous ideas circulated on the “hamster wheel” spinning in my brain. Sometime in late November the spinning stopped, and I knew the word was “Wholeness.”
On January 1 st , I cleared off an eyelevel shelf in my office bookshelf to help me be mindful during 2026 that The Holy Trinity invited me to discover new truths about “soul wholeness.” As I’ve explained in previous posts, I appreciate the Hebrew word, Nephish, used in the Old Testament to speak of the soul. Nephish is the entirety of a person—the material and the immaterial—and encompasses body, emotions, relationships, finances, career, thoughts, as well as spiritual connection to God and God’s creation.
Here’s an explanation of the shelf.
On the left side is a photo of two cups of Cappuccino on which the word “Wholeness” is written. One of my most joyful habits every day is sipping the first cup of morning coffee. I think it’s accurate to say, joy is a component of wholeness!! When at home, I always drink it black, and oftentimes, with my husband. Some of our sweetest (as well as most difficult) conversations have occurred over morning cups of coffee!
When Ron and I were in Italy, we followed the maxim, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Quickly, we adapted to the Italian tradition of going to a local bakery for a Cappuccino and some sort of sweet pastry in the morning. The barista in a cozy Italian coffee shop who served us these beautiful drinks was especially friendly!
Back to that shelf in my office.
In the center back, is a cross my husband Ron made for me from an exotic wood. Hanging over it are a strand of Anglican prayer beads as well as a Rosary with a Franciscan Tau cross, which we purchased while in Assisi, Italy.
The cross is the central symbol of Christianity. Even though my faith tradition has been in a Protestant, more Evangelical stream, I have come to deeply value other traditions. My Christian faith has been enriched by dear friends—both currently and historically—who are from Roman Catholic and Orthodox faith traditions. The candle in front of the cross reminds me that Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness …” John 8:12 (NIV) Oh, how I want to walk in the light of Jesus’ love!
The photo on the right is called “The Trinity” and was originally painted by the iconic
Russian artist, Andei Rublev, in the15 th Century. Although I always believed
theologically in the Trinity, during the past few years, exploring theTrinity has become an
important part of my spiritual journey. In my next blog post, I will expand upon this.
If you have a special word for 2026, I’d love to hear it.
Blessings on your journey!
