March 2023
Jesus modeled what it looks like to return home to oneself on a regular basis, and that’s why he was able to live so aligned with his values and with what he believed God was calling him to do.
“Home is a sustained mood or sense that allows us to experience feelings not necessarily sustained in the mundane world: wonder, vision, peace, freedom from worry, freedom from demands. All these treasures from home are meant to be cached in the psyche for later use in the topside world.” - Clarissa Pinkola Estes
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. - Luke 5:16
Alignment was a guiding word for me in 2021. At the end of 2020 I made a big career move that helped me be more in alignment with my integrity, passion, and future goals. I spent much of 2021 seeing what happened when I listened to my intuition and followed it (spoiler alert, it led to way more peace).
As someone who tries to follow God in the path of Christ, Jesus is an example of a person who lived in alignment with his purpose even though he was often very misunderstood by those around him–both those in opposition to him and also his close friends! Throughout all four accounts of the stories of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), there are many places where the text mentions that Jesus withdrew to be alone. Here are just a few examples: