Beloved is Where You Begin
by Jan Richardson

If you would enter
Into the wilderness,
Do not begin
Without a blessing.
Do not leave
Without hearing
Who you are:
Beloved,
Named by the One
Who has traveled this path
Before you.
Do not go
Without letting it echo
In your ears,
And if you find
it is hard
To let into your heart,
Do not despair.
That is what
This journey is for.

“Epiphany is a day in Chrisitan traditions when we remember the Magi’s journey, following a star from nations around the world to meet Christ as an infant. Later, when King Herod attempts to manipulate them to reveal the location of the child he wants to kill, they, in sacred disobedience, ignore his request.” – Cole Arthur Riley