Welcome to this conversation

Enough - Episode 4: Enough Me. “You are enough!” You’ve probably heard many people tell you that but you know the truth. You know the hidden you and it is not enough. Even if you have enough bravado to fill a stadium you have also woken up in the middle of the night scared, shaken, worried, maybe ashamed...not enough. It's time to ask whether you do know the truth about yourself when you are convinced you aren't enough, and what enough is, where it is found, and what it feels like.

Episode 4: Enough Me

There are many versions of enough that we each chase, and the harder we chase, the further away they seem to be. What if the enough you are chasing isn’t out there but inside? What if it’s you? Yourself? As hard as it is to feel like you have enough money, fame, success, recognition, credit, whatever…feeling like you yourself are enough is probably the hardest. In some way or another, all those things or attributes you want enough of point at, or cover up, the real enough question, “Am I Enough?”

Something to consider:

How often do you feel like you are ‘enough’? How often do you feel like you aren’t? What situations or experiences make you feel one way or another? 

“I can tell you – and I mean it – that You Are Enough! Just as you are. But chances are that you have heard that and know it. That’s not the problem. The problem is that you don’t feel like it. And if you don’t feel it – deep in your bones – it doesn’t matter what I say because whatever is making you ask the question is still there.”

Listen to Martha’s story of seeking how to be enough as a parent and to help her children develop without making them feel like who they are now isn’t enough.

How do you carry on the necessary self-reflection to keep growing without turning it into sell-measuring?

Jesus and his two Manifestos after his 40 days in the wilderness.

From Matthew’s Gospel: Jesus turned the way we look at enough on its head. Check this out.
Society’s version of The Enoughs (This is Greg’s caricature of it.)

Blessed, OR Enough are those who earn 6-figure salaries, 
for theirs is the kingdom of this world.

Enough are those who are in charge of their own lives,
for they will inherit the earth.

Enough are those who manage to avoid suffering, pain and poverty,
for they will be comfortable.

Enough are those who are known and respected by many
for they will be full of themselves.

Enough are the powerful,
for they will be like gods.

Versus Jesus’ version (AKA The Beatitudes or The Enoughs? Matt 5.1-12)

Blessed, OR Enough are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Enough are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Enough are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Enough are those who hunger and thirst to be in right relationship,
for they will be filled…

Something to consider: 

These two versions of The Enoughs (Greg’s name for them) reflect different visions of the world, and where the purpose and value of our humanity are found. How do they speak to your life? What do they make you feel inside?

From Luke’s Gospel: Jesus' vision for the world and what it meant for him to bring enough to it.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 

"The Spirit of the Lord, Yahweh (I am who I am) is upon me,
because Yahweh has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
Has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor." 

Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Consider the role and power of silence in this brief moment!
Then J said to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  Luke 4.16-21

One college student's response to this passage: “It’s reassuring to me to hear that the world is not as it should be. That God desires it to be different. It helps me to understand why I am in such pain.”

TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT SEEKING TO BE ENOUGH 
#1 Where will the affirmation that you are enough come from? Outside or Inside you?

Something to consider:
What are the dangers of seeking your affirmation from outside yourself?

How can you distinguish the voices of others echoing inside you from your heart's voice within?

#2 The BIG Question this week! That hole inside you that you are endlessly trying to fill in order to feel like you are enough… What if there never was a hole inside you that needs filling? 

“What if it isn’t a matter of being enough or not, but of letting things seep into your mind and heart that blind you to the journey, the moment you are in, so that all you see is a million destinations that you aren’t at yet, never will be, and probably never need to?”

Listen to Jess’ story of finding how she and her child discovered where enough was for them after chasing it and despairing because she couldn’t get it.

The LORD (Yahweh, “I Am Who I Am”) who created you says to you,
“Do not fear, for I have brought you back,
I have called you by name, …you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
because…you are precious in my sight, and I love you.” Isaiah 43.1,2a,4a 

And God says to you, “Why do I think you are enough? Well, I guess it is because I love you, because… I love you, which is…because… I love you. That’s it. That’s all.” 

Something to consider: 
There is no hole. There is just you. And you are enough.

More Resources…

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