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“Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.’”—JOHN 3:3-5 (NRSVUE)

Reflect
When my son turned two, I had just been diagnosed with cancer, and I thought that was the last birthday I would get to spend with him. So I decided to throw him an absolutely absurd farm party. So recently, when he turned nine, I decided to celebrate again with another huge farm themed birthday because I couldn’t believe that I was still here with him. I went all out. We couldn’t just sit on chairs, we had to sit on bales of hay. We couldn't just have desserts, we had rice crispy cake that looked like—more hay. I invited anyone who I have ever known and so there were herds of children running around like wild things. At one point I looked around and I could see my kid delirious with joy, and he ran up to me and asked, “Is this the day that I’m born again?” I thought yes, that is exactly how I feel about it. Being born again is like this reset button. God loves to make us new. We can be in the muck of all kinds of things—health, bad things we’ve done, bad things done to us, anything—and suddenly be free to start again. Or move on. Or feel the wild joy of zooming around hay bales for no reason except the calendar has declared that you are suddenly new.

Respond
Splash some water on your face or at least let some drops of water hit your palm. Remember today you can be born again—you can hit the reset button on at least one small thing. Maybe you need grace and forgiveness, maybe you need rest and to let go of perfection, maybe you need healing from all the wounds. Let the water refresh you and try again today (that is being human).

Blessing for a little boost in the morning

Resurrection has come, light covered
everything—
the sleepy and the waking,
the trees that brush the windows.

 It whispers, "Begin again."
May you embrace the obstacle course ahead:
the tangled messes and hard conversations,
the kindness you muster when it’s too much,
the fight you picked because you could.

And when your best efforts unravel—
when memory falters or irritations boil over—
may gratitude lift your eyes
and settle your soul.

Because this is where the work begins,
more love, more trust,
more faith in the unseen grace
that meets us anew each day.

And when you pause, may you know—
the sun has risen,
and so has Love,
carried in the shape of a cross,
proclaiming, "It is finished."
May your day be blessed,
as you walk in the light
of what is already done.42

42 Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Adapted from “For Maundy Thursday” in The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. (New York: Convergent Books, 2023). 48-49.

© KateBowler.com