Saturday 9 April 2016

Whole, Hole or Shalom?




Five Minute Friday and today's prompt is whole. 
What does that word bring to mind for you?
Write for 5 minutes unedited on this one word.

Whole by Kath


The word whole immediately reminds me of Shalom, which is God's word for whole - being whole in every way, being in perfect peace throughout.   It's not being whole in every part of us, because separating ourselves into parts is a very Greek way of thinking.  But whole in every aspect, every way, in our inner being, being well-rounded, which might be a more culture-friendly way of understanding it.  

God wants us to be whole, to be full. 

And yet whole, in English, sounds more like a hole, like empty, like not full.   I am always fascinated by the roots of English words, but have never really thought about where the word 'whole' comes from.   It doesn't sound right or look right.  I wonder is it related to who?  Who is whole?   Maybe, maybe not.

So, back to Shalom.  God's good desire for us is Shalom - whole, at peace, in every way, in every aspect of our lives.   But I have been discovering that to have Shalom, to be at peace, sometimes there has to be less of something - in fact, less of a lot of things that we hold on to. 

We need a hole to be whole.   And into that hole we need to ditch some stuff, and not take it back.   Stuff like bitterness, regret, unforgiveness, cynicism, anger, materialism, fear, angst, the need to be right are a few things that come to mind.   And sometimes we need to ditch some stuff we can actually hold.  Stuff like too many toys, books (yeah, I said books), distractions, gadgets, things that represent images we might be inclined to worship, like brand names, icons, modern idols.   And other less tangible things, but just as damaging and clogging, like social media and damaging ways of relating to people, time commitments that are not God-directed.  

So, down into the hole goes stuff that we need to let go of, so we can be full of what God has in mind for us, full of whatever is pure and lovely and noble and honourable  and great and nourishing and life-giving, not life draining.  Then we can have that Shalom, that perfect peace - we can be whole.

Linking up at LittlebyLittleblog.com and

8 comments:

  1. Visiting as your FMF neighbor. Fill teh hole to become whole. Nice thought. Good job.

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    1. Thanks for commenting! We certainly do have to ditch some stuff to be whole.

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  2. fascinating. thank you for sharing the background of Shalom. I only knew it as a greeting and not a term for wholeness. I like your reflection on holes as well. Lisa Whittle has written a book called (w)hole which speaks about the holes in our lives and He who fills them to make them WHOLE. thank you for writing this week. i'm one of your neighbors at FMF

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    1. Thanks for commenting! Shalom has been a big lesson for me over the last couple of years and still more to learn.

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  3. Beautiful post, and so true! I have spent years trying to fill my heart with things that don't satisfy, but now years being filled with the love of the God who made me. Nothing else works! Thanks for sharing!

    Blessings,
    Selena

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    1. Hi Selena. Thanks for your feedback. It's something God has shown me quite a lot over the last couple of years - sometimes we need to be emptied to get filled with Him. A painful process but a much healthier place to be. Glad it was helpful.
      thanks
      Kath

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  4. Great post! Now I really wondering where the word "whole" comes from too! #69 on FMF

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    1. Hi Denise. Thanks for your feedback. Will check out your blog. This link might give you some ideas about the word 'whole'.
      http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=whole

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