Proclaiming the Gifts of Holy Wounds by Enuma Okoro

On my left arm, three inches below my wrist, is a scar whose faint discoloring whispers of an afternoon spent walking the Mayan ruins of Belize. While stopping to take a photograph, I leaned against a tree and later developed a skin reaction that looked and felt like a third-degree burn. In nearly the same place on my right arm are the remains of an older scar, boasting of an exuberant bike ride on wooded trails in Washington. The scar on my forehead speaks of the pain and play of a childhood in Nigeria and running straight into the corner of a wall while gleefully trying to escape my older brother’s clutches. The wounds of my body tell tales of my life’s passages. There are endless related memories stitched into these wounds.

Our bodies are storytellers and they bear the marks of our existence in both visible and invisible ways. They hold the events of our lives like an ever-growing book of fables— stories that long to offer us lessons from which to learn, words of wisdom to live by, invitations to deeper self-awareness and spiritual well-being. It takes practice to hear our bodies, but if we are curious enough to listen, patient enough to learn, and brave enough to act on what we’ve heard, we can more faithfully live as temples of the Holy Spirit. And, by the Spirit, our bodies are divinely infused to be temples of proclamation whose visible and invisible marks, scars and wounds speak life-giving stories of grace, healing, hospitality and prayer for ourselves and others.

How can you practice holy listening, listening for the presence of God in your own body? To find out, read the full text of this article in the July/August 2008 issue of Horizons.

Call (866) 802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the November/ December 2008 issue (HZN-08-250; $4 plus shipping).

Enuma Okoro works as the director for communications at the Methodist Home for Children in Raleigh, North Carolina. Born in the United States and raised in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and England, Enuma holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. She is a freelance writer and retreat leader. Visit Enuma's Web site to learn more about her ministry.

Coincidence by Yuko Ishii.

Other Articles Online This Issue

Proclaiming the Gifts of Holy Wounds
Giving Demons Their Due
From Brokenness to Wholeness
Eight Steps to a Sounder Mind
Shopping for Justice
Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church
Mosaic
Working for Justice and Peace
Faithful Parenting


How can you practice holy listening, listening for the presence of God in your own body? To find out, read the full text of this article in the July/August 2008 issue of Horizons. Call (866) 802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the November/ December 2008 issue (HZN-08-250; $4 plus shipping).	Proclaiming the Gifts of Holy Wounds by Enuma Okoro On my left arm, three inches below my wrist, is a scar whose faint discoloring whispers of an afternoon spent walking the Mayan ruins of Belize. While stopping to take a photograph, I leaned against a tree and later developed a skin reaction that looked and felt like a third-degree burn. In nearly the same place on my right arm are the remains of an older scar, boasting of an exuberant bike ride on wooded trails in Washington. The scar on my forehead speaks of the pain and play of a childhood in Nigeria and running straight into the corner of a wall while gleefully trying to escape my older brother’s clutches. The wounds of my body tell tales of my life’s passages. There are endless related memories stitched into these wounds. Our bodies are storytellers and they bear the marks of our existence in both visible and invisible ways. They hold the events of our lives like an ever-growing book of fables— stories that long to offer us lessons from which to learn, words of wisdom to live by, invitations to deeper self-awareness and spiritual well-being. It takes practice to hear our bodies, but if we are curious enough to listen, patient enough to learn, and brave enough to act on what we’ve heard, we can more faithfully live as temples of the Holy Spirit. And, by the Spirit, our bodies are divinely infused to be temples of proclamation whose visible and invisible marks, scars and wounds speak life-giving stories of grace, healing, hospitality and prayer for ourselves and others. How can you practice holy listening, listening for the presence of God in your own body? To find out, read the full text of this article in the July/August 2008 issue of Horizons. Call (866) 802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the November/ December 2008 issue (HZN-08-250; $4 plus shipping). Enuma Okoro works as the director for communications at the Methodist Home for Children in Raleigh, North Carolina. Born in the United States and raised in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and England, Enuma holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. She is a freelance writer and retreat leader. Visit Enuma's Web site to learn more about her ministry. Coincidence by Yuko Ishii. Other Articles Online This Issue Proclaiming the Gifts of Holy Wounds Giving Demons Their Due From Brokenness to Wholeness Eight Steps to a Sounder Mind Shopping for Justice Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Mosaic Working for Justice and Peace Faithful Parenting	Current Issue JUL/AUG 2008 About This Issue Contents FREE Resource How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the July/August 2008 issue, HZN-08-230. to Horizons or call (866) 802-3635 this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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