Series 3: From Pattern to Presence - 4. When Identity is Lived

By this point, something has already happened.

Recognition has taken place.

Not just seeing…

but knowing.

Something is no longer:

• hidden
• symbolic
• uncertain

It has become clear.

Clarity...

🔹 But clarity is not the end

Because once something is recognized for what it is—

it does not remain still.

It moves.

🔹 The Pattern Expands Again

Before:

• something hidden → revealed
• something revealed → recognized

Then:

• something recognized → understood

Now:

🔥 something understood → begins to be lived

🔹 This Is the Shift

At first, everything seems external:

• a temple
• a house
• a moment

Then it becomes personal:

• recognition
• encounter
• identity

But now—

🔑 it becomes active

🔹 Identity Does Not Stay Passive

Once something is real—

it begins to express itself.

Naturally.

Not forced.

Not manufactured.

🔥 But flowing from what it already is.

🔹 This is where the pattern becomes visible again

Before:

• glory filled a place
• fragrance filled a space

Now:

• identity fills action

Not by entering…

But by being expressed

🔹 This is why it cannot be hidden anymore

Because what is real—

moves outward.

Not in appearance alone.

But in:

• action
• presence
• interaction

🔹 And this reveals something deeper

The pattern was never just about:

• something being shown

It was about:

🔥 something becoming active

🔹 The same structure continues

Hidden

→ revealed

→ recognized

→ understood

→ lived

And once it reaches this point—

It begins to affect everything around it.

🔹 Because identity is no longer internal only

It becomes:

• visible
• relational
• present in real ways

🔹 Final Thought

Recognition changes what is seen.

But expression—

changes what is experienced.

And that is where the pattern continues.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~ 

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern
Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

🔹Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

1. When Presence Takes Form

2. Recognition in a Person

3. Beyond Signs - Into Identity

4. When Identity is Lived - You are here

5. Not Seen the Same Way

6. What is Real - Remains

To Come...

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series Summary Sidenote...

The Jot and the Mark: Finding God in the Smallest Things

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence - 3. Beyond Signs - Into Identity

After following the pattern this far, something begins to change.

At first, everything seems to point toward something.

There are signs.

Moments.

Events.

Things happen that draw attention—

but they are not the end of it.

Knowing...

🔹 Signs Were Never the Destination

The temple filled.

The house filled.

The body appeared.

Each moment revealed something.

But none of them were meant to stand alone.

They were pointing.

Not to a place.

Not even just to an event.

🔥 They were pointing to identity

🔹 Recognition Changes Form

At the beginning, recognition looked like this:

• seeing something happen
• witnessing something unfold
• understanding a moment

But now it shifts again.

It is no longer:

“What happened?”

It becomes:

“What is this… really?”

🔹 From Appearance to Meaning

When Jesus stands there—

flesh and bones—

that is not just proof.

It is not just:

“He is alive.”

It is something deeper:

🔥 It is the revealing of what He is

🔹 The Pattern Deepens

Before:

• something hidden → revealed
• something revealed → recognized

Now:

• something recognized → understood

And that understanding is not surface-level.

It is identity.

🔹 This Is Why Not Everyone Sees the Same Thing

Some see:

• a moment
• an event
• a miracle

Others begin to see:

• meaning
• identity
• reality

🔹 The Shift into Reality

At first:

• glory filled the temple
• fragrance filled the house

Then:

• presence stood before them

Now:

• that presence is no longer just seen

🔥 It is known

🔹 And This Changes Everything

Because once something is known for what it is—

it cannot return to being just a sign.

It cannot go back to being:

• symbolic
• distant
• unclear

🔑 It becomes fixed as reality

🔹 The Question Evolves Again

At first:

Where is it?

Then:

Who is it?

Now:

What has it become?

🔹 And the Pattern Still Holds

Even here—

recognition is not the same for everyone.

👉 Some remain at the level of signs.

👉 Some move into identity.

And those who see—

👉 see differently from that point forward.

🔹 Final Thought

Everything that came before—

the side

the opening

the filling

the appearing

was leading here.

Not just to recognition.

🔥 But to reality that cannot be unseen

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~ 

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern
Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

🔹Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

1. When Presence Takes Form

2. Recognition in a Person

3. Beyond Signs - Into Identity - You are here

4. When Identity is Lived

5. Not Seen the Same Way

6. What is Real - Remains

To Come...

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series Summary Sidenote...

The Jot and the Mark: Finding God in the Smallest Things

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence - 2. Recognition in a Person

After seeing the pattern unfold, something became clear.

Recognition is not random.

It doesn’t happen everywhere,

and it doesn’t happen all at once.

The encounter...

🔹 It Has Always Been Selective

In every part of the pattern:

Not everyone sees at the same time.

In the beginning:

Adam recognizes what was brought before him.

At the cross:

Something is opened…

but its meaning is not immediately understood.

After the resurrection:

Jesus stands there…

and yet—

not everyone recognizes Him.

🔹 The Moment That Stands Out

There is a moment that changes everything.

Not loud.

Not announced.

Quiet.

One person sees.

Before the others.

Not because it was explained.

But because it was recognized.

🔹 The Pattern Repeats Again

Hidden

→ revealed

→ recognized

But now, the shift is clear:

It is not just about something being revealed.

It is about who is able to see it.

🔹 From Space to Person

Before:

• presence filled a temple
• presence filled a house

Now:

• presence stands

And recognition is no longer about a place—

🔥 It is about encountering someone

Not:

Where is it?

But:

Who is it?

🔹 And This Changes Everything

Because recognition is no longer:

• distant
• symbolic
• external

It becomes:

• Immediate
• Personal
• Relational

🔑 And the Pattern Holds

Just like before—

Not everyone sees first.

There is always:

One

who recognizes

before the others understand

And through that recognition…

everything begins to unfold.

🔹 The Question Remains

It’s not whether it is there.

It is.

The question is:

Can it be recognized?

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern
Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

🔹Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

1. When Presence Takes Form

2. Recognition in a Person - You are here

3. Beyond Signs - Into Identity

4. When Identity is Lived

5. Not Seen the Same Way

6. What is Real - Remains

To Come...

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series Summary Sidenote...

The Jot and the Mark: Finding God in the Smallest Things

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence - 1. When Presence Takes Form

Before, I had been tracing something that kept repeating.

A pattern.

Not something I was trying to create—

something that was already there.

Pattern to presence...

🔹 It Was Always About the Space

At first, it looked like it was about places.

A temple…

a house…

a room…

And again and again, something would happen:

Something would enter

…and fill it.

In the temple:

the glory fills the house.

In the Song:

the fragrance spreads.

In the Gospels:

the perfume fills the room.

And I started to see that these weren’t separate moments.

They were the same structure.

Different language

but the same event:

something real filling the space

and transforming it.

🔹 But Then Something Changed

Because it doesn’t stay in the space.

It moves.

From temple

→ to house

From dwelling

→ to presence

And then…

something unexpected.

🔹 Flesh and Bones

After the resurrection, Jesus doesn’t describe Himself symbolically.

He says:

“A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Not an idea.

Not an image.

But something real.

Something present.

🔹 The Pattern Shifts

Up to this point:

The focus was on:

• a place being filled
• a space becoming something more

But now…

The focus is no longer the place.

🔥 The Presence Is No Longer Just Filling

It is standing there.

Not in a temple.

Not in a building.

But in a body.

🔹 The Living Dwelling

What once filled:

• the temple
• the house
• the room

…is now revealed in a different way.

Not as something that enters a space—

But as something

that is the space made visible.

🔹 And Recognition Happens Again

And just like before—

It is not everyone who sees it at once.

There is someone there…

before the others understand.

Again.

The same pattern:

Hidden

→ revealed

→ recognized

But now—

it’s no longer about a place.

🔑 It’s About a Presence That Has Taken Form

What filled the house

is now standing before them.

What filled the temple

is now seen.

What was invisible

is now recognizable.

And the question is no longer:

Where does it dwell?

But:

Can you see it?

Reflection:

What was hidden

was opened

what was opened

was revealed

what was revealed

was recognized

and what is recognized

becomes real.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern
Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

🔹Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

1. When Presence Takes Form - You are here

2. Recognition in a Person

3. Beyond Signs - Into Identity

4. When Identity is Lived

5. Not Seen the Same Way

6. What is Real - Remains

To Come...

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series Summary Sidenote...

The Jot and the Mark: Finding God in the Smallest Things

Series 2 Summary - Intro Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

In the last series, I followed something that kept repeating.

A pattern.

It appeared in different places:

In creation

In the cross

In the resurrection

But also in quieter moments:

In a house filled with fragrance

In an unseen recognition

In one who sees before the others

And what became clear is this:

It wasn’t just a pattern of events.

It was a pattern of what happens when something is revealed.

Something hidden

is opened

Something opened

is made visible

And what is visible

can finally be recognized.

Pattern within a pattern...

🔹 But then something deeper emerged

Because this pattern didn’t just describe what happened.

It described how presence works.

Presence enters

Presence fills

Presence transforms

And eventually—

presence is no longer just something that fills a space.

🔹It becomes something that can be seen

Not symbolically.

Not abstractly.

But real.

🔹 This is where everything turns

Because once presence is no longer just filling a place…

The question changes.

It is no longer:

Where is it?

It becomes:

What is it now?

And that’s where the next part begins.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern
Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

🔹Series 2 Summary - You are here 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There 

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 6. The Bride as Reality

Over time, this is where everything has been leading—

not as something new, but as something that has gradually come into clearer view.


Where the pattern leads...

🔹 Looking Back

After moving through each part—

• the one at His feet
• the one who recognizes
• the one who responds
• the one who gives
• the one who sees

There is a question that remains.

What does all of this point to?

🔹 Not Just Moments

Because these aren’t just isolated moments.

They repeat.

They deepen.

They connect.

And over time, they begin to form something whole.

🔹 A Pattern That Holds Together

When I step back, everything we’ve seen begins to align:

Something hidden 

↓

Revealed

↓

Recognized by one

↓

Responded to

↓

Given fully

↓

Others follow

This isn’t random.

It’s consistent.

🔹 A Role That Appears Again

Across everything, one role continues to appear.

Not always named.

Not always the same person.

But the same pattern.

🔹 Not Just an Individual

And this is where it began to settle for me.

The pattern does not seem limited

to a single individual.

It appears larger than that.

🔹 A Consistent Identity

Because the same role appears:

• in different women
• in different moments
• in different forms

But with the same structure:

• recognition
• nearness
• response
• giving

🔹 Something That Represents More

Over time, this began to connect beyond just the Gospel moments.

To something described in different ways:

• a woman
• a bride
• a figure that responds and draws near

Not separate ideas—

but different expressions of the same pattern.

🔹 The Pattern as Relationship

What becomes clear is this:

This is not just about behavior.

It is about relationship.

One who:

• recognizes
• comes close
• responds
• gives fully

🔹 The Same Structure

When everything is placed together, the structure is the same:

One revealed

↓

One who responds

↓

A relationship formed

↓

Others drawn in

🔹 Not Just Symbol

This is where the shift happens.

The pattern is not only symbolic.

It reflects something real.

Something lived.

🔹 What It Points Toward

And this is where it leads:

Not just to moments of recognition—

but to a shared relationship.

One that:

• begins with recognition
• deepens through response
• becomes something lasting

🔹 The Bride

This is where the language begins to make sense.

The same pattern that appears in moments

is also described as a bride.

Not as something separate—

but as the full expression of what we’ve been seeing all along.

🔹 The Pattern Completed

So what we’ve followed through each post:

• it was never only about individual acts
• it was never only about isolated people

It was showing:

• how recognition becomes relationship.

🔹 And It Expands

Because it doesn’t stop with one.

What is first seen by one

becomes something others are drawn into.

Just like before—

but now, complete.

What begins as recognition

becomes relationship.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Series 1: The Pattern - Start Here

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees
6. The Bride as Reality - You are here
7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 5. The Hidden One Who Sees

This is something I’ve recognized for a while—

that not everyone sees the same thing at the same time.

Why Some Recognize...

🔹 Something That Became Clear

After following this pattern through—

• the one who comes close
• the one who recognizes
• the one who responds

There was something else I couldn’t ignore.

Not everyone sees it.

🔹 The Same Moment, Different Response

Looking back at the same moments:

• she sees
• she responds
• she gives

While at the same time:

• others question
• others hesitate
• others do not understand

The moment is the same.

The response is not.

🔹 This Is Already Spoken

Jesus says something very direct about this:

“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God,

but to the rest it is in parables,

so that seeing they may not see.” (Luke 8:10)

This stayed with me.

Because it explains something I had already been noticing.

🔹 Not All Seeing Is the Same

There is a difference between:

• looking
• and seeing

Between:

• hearing
• and understanding

And that difference isn’t based on information alone.

🔹 Recognition Is Not Just Knowledge

What I’ve been seeing in this pattern is this:

Recognition doesn’t come from being told.

It comes from something deeper.

Something internal

that responds

when something is revealed.

🔹 The Same Pattern Again

When I step back, it fits everything we’ve already seen:

Something is revealed

↓

One perceives

↓

Others do not

↓

Later… they begin to see

This is the pattern.

🔹 The One Who Sees First

Across everything we’ve followed:

• the woman at His feet
• the one who anoints
• the one who gives

There is always one who sees first.

🔹 Not Because It Was Explained

And this is what matters most:

It isn’t because everything was explained first.

It’s because something in them

recognized it.

🔹 Hidden, Then Seen

This is where everything connects.

The pattern begins hidden.

It is revealed.

But it is not seen by everyone equally.

🔹 Something Given

What becomes clear to me is this:

Seeing, in this sense, is not something taken.

It is something given.

And when it is given—

it is recognized.

🔹 The Pattern Comes Together

Now everything we’ve seen begins to align:

• the one who remains
• the one who comes close
• the one who responds
• the one who gives

Is also:

• the one who sees

🔹 And Then Others Follow

And just like before—

it doesn’t end there.

What is first seen by one

is later understood by others.

What is hidden is revealed—

but it is not recognized by everyone at the same time.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Series 1: The Pattern - Start Here

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees - You are here
6. The Bride as Reality 

7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series 2 - Post 4: (Side Note) Valley of Decision

Mt. Hermon: Transfiguration, Judgement - Valley of Decision

Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good in appearance; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

— Genesis 6:1-2

🔹 The Mountain—Housetop

Is it a literal location or symbolic?

Scripture uses imagery of a house, temple, and dwelling place for human beings:

Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," speaking of His body (John 2:19-21).

Paul says, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Believers are described as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).

Biblical pattern exists: a physical structure can symbolize a person. 

Likewise, Scripture repeatedly locates sin, corruption, and defilement as something that proceeds from within:

"Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts..." (Matthew 15:19)

"The kingdom of God is within you" or "in your midst" (Luke 17:21, depending on translation).

🔹 Abomination of Desolation 

Concerning the abomination of desolation, Jesus refers to the prophecy of Daniel (Matthew 24:15). Historically and prophetically, many interpretations see it as:

• A literal desecration of a temple.
• A future event.
• A symbolic spiritual corruption.

Following a symbolic line:

• The temple can symbolize the human person.
• The holy place can symbolize the inner sanctuary of consciousness, heart, or mind.

The abomination then becomes the intrusion of false worship, deception, pride, or lawlessness into that inner sanctuary.

Judgment becomes the exposure and separation of truth from falsehood within the person.

Here are passages that resonate with this idea:

"For the word of God is living and powerful... discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing..." (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

"Jehovah searcheth all hearts..." (1 Chronicles 28:9)

🔹 Battlefield of the mind

Under this reading, the "valley of decision" could be viewed symbolically as the place where God's verdict confronts the deepest part of a person and where truth is separated from deception.

What Scripture clearly states is that God judges both nations and individual hearts. Whether Joel's Valley of Decision specifically symbolizes the human mind is not stated in the text, but it fits within a broader biblical theme that God's judgment reaches the innermost person.

An interesting connection is that in Scripture the battlefield is often internal before it becomes external. Eve's temptation, Israel's idolatry, Judas' betrayal, and the warnings of Jesus all begin with something entering the heart and mind. In that sense, one could argue that the deepest "abomination of desolation" is not merely a desecrated building but a desecrated inner sanctuary where something other than God occupies the place that belongs to Him.

That interpretation is not explicitly taught by Joel, but it is a coherent symbolic reading when viewed through the broader scriptural themes of temple, heart, dwelling place, and judgment.

Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the sanctuary of God, God will destroy him, for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.

— 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

See previous post: Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 4. The Two Women

Excerpt:

🔹 The Place of Decision

And this is what stood out to me:

The pattern now includes a point of decision.

To remain

or not remain

To respond

or not respond 

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~ 

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition 
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision - You are here

5. The Hidden One Who Sees

6. The Bride as Reality 

7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 4. The Two Women

This is where something I had already been aware of

became clearer over time—

that not only does the pattern repeat,

but there are contrasts within it.


The Pattern of Contrast...

🔹 Something I Couldn’t Ignore

As I kept following this pattern,

another layer began to stand out.

Not just repetition.

But contrast.

🔹 Not One — But Two

Across Scripture, there are moments

where two figures appear side by side.

Not identical.

Not interchangeable.

But clearly connected.

🔹 A Pattern Already There

I had seen it before in different forms:

• two paths
• two responses
• two outcomes

And then I began to notice—

this pattern appears

in a very specific way.

🔹 Two Women

In different places,

Scripture presents this contrast through two women.

Not just individuals—

but patterns.

As reflected in earlier notes, Scripture itself presents structured contrasts like:

• Sarah and Hagar
• freedom and bondage
• one connected to promise, the other to limitation 

🔹 Not Equal, But Parallel

What stood out to me is this:

They are not the same—

but they are presented in parallel.

One draws toward life.

One moves away from it.

One responds.

One resists.

🔹 The Same Structure

When I step back, the structure becomes simple:

Two figures

↓

Two responses

↓

Two outcomes

🔹 The Same Pattern, Continued

This doesn’t replace what we’ve already seen.

It deepens it.

Because now the pattern isn’t just:

• recognition

It becomes:

• recognition
• or refusal

🔹 The Place of Decision

And this is what stood out to me:

The pattern now includes a point of decision.

To remain

or not remain

To respond

or not respond

See post: Series 2 - Post 4: (Side Note) Valley of Decision 

🔹 Not Forced, But Revealed

Neither path is forced.

Both are present.

Both are seen.

And the difference between them

is not distance—

but response.

🔹 The One Who Recognizes

When I hold this next to everything before it:

• the woman at His feet
• the one who anoints
• the one who gives

It becomes clearer.

The pattern is not just about seeing.

It’s about how one responds

after seeing.

🔹 Something Consistent

There is something consistent in all of this:

What is revealed

does not produce the same response in everyone.

🔹 And It Continues Forward

Because this pattern doesn’t stay in one place.

It appears again and again—

in different forms,

but within the same structure.

The same truth can be present—

and yet lead to two very different responses.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Series 1: The Pattern - Start Here

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women - You are here

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees
6. The Bride as Reality  

7. Series 2 Summary  

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 3. Hair and Glory

The deeper I stayed with this over time,

the more the smaller details began to stand out—

not as separate things, but as part of the same pattern.

What Is Laid Down...

🔹 Something Easy to Overlook

There is a detail in these moments that is easy to pass over.

But once I noticed it,

it stayed with me.

Not just that she comes to His feet.

Not just that she anoints them.

But how.

🔹 The Hair

“And wiped them with the hair of her head.” (John 12:3)

“She wiped them with the hair of her head…” (Luke 7:38)

The same detail appears more than once.

And it’s very specific.

🔹 Not Necessary

She didn’t have to do that.

It wasn’t required.

It wasn’t instructed.

And yet—

she does.

🔹 Something Personal

What stood out to me is how personal this is.

This isn’t distant.

This isn’t formal.

This is something of her own.

Something that belongs to her.

🔹 What Is Brought Down

Hair is not separate from the person.

It’s part of how someone is seen.

And here—

it is brought down to the lowest place.

To His feet.

🔹 A Movement

When I step back, I see the movement clearly:

Something personal

↓

brought down

↓

laid at His feet

🔹 Not Taken — Given

No one asks her to do this.

It isn’t taken from her.

It is given.

Freely.

Willingly.

🔹 The Pattern Deepens

In the last post,

we saw that recognition responds.

Here, we see how far that response goes.

It doesn’t stay external.

It becomes personal.

🔹 Lowering What Is Seen

This is what stayed with me.

Something that is normally visible,

kept,

part of identity—

is lowered

and placed at His feet.

🔹 The Same Role

And again,

it happens in the same pattern:

• she comes close
• she recognizes
• she responds
• she gives something of herself

Before others understand.

🔹 Not Explained

No one explains this in the moment.

Others question.

Others misunderstand.

But she continues.

🔹 Something Consistent

There is something consistent in all of this:

The one who recognizes first

does not hold back.

What is recognized inwardly

eventually becomes something given.

~ Peace, Love. and Joy ~

Series 1: The Pattern - Start Here

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory - You are here
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees
6. The Bride as Reality 

7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 2. The Anointing

This is something I’ve noticed for a long time—

not just the pattern itself,

but what happens when someone recognizes it before anyone else does.

Recognition before it is explained....

🔹 Something Repeated Again

As I stayed with this longer, another detail kept returning.

Not just that the woman comes to His feet—

but what she does there.

She brings something with her.

Oil.

Perfume.

Something costly.

🔹 The Act Itself

In each account, the moment is strikingly similar.

“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard…

and anointed the feet of Jesus;

and the house was filled with the fragrance.” (John 12:3)

And again:

“She began to wash His feet with her tears…

and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:38)

Different moments.

Same action.

🔹 Before Anyone Else Understands

What stood out to me is not just the act—

but when it happens.

It happens before:

• His death
• the full understanding of what is coming
• the others recognizing the moment

And yet—

she responds as if she already knows.

🔹 Recognition First

This is the same pattern again.

Not explanation first.

Recognition first.

Others question:

• Why this?
• Why now?
• Why something so costly?

But she doesn’t question.

She acts.

🔹 Something Costly

And what she brings isn’t small.

It is costly.

Which made me notice something else:

Recognition isn’t passive.

It responds.

It moves.

It gives.

It pours out.

🔹 Filling the Space

There is another detail that’s easy to miss—

but repeats in a very specific way:

“The house was filled with the fragrance.” (John 12:3)

What was hidden

is now everywhere.

Something internal

becomes visible.

🔹 The Same Pattern

When I step back, the structure is the same:

Recognition

↓

Response

↓

Something poured out

↓

Something fills the space

🔹 Not Forced, But Known

What stands out most to me is this:

There is no indication

that she was instructed.

She does not wait.

She responds

as if she already understands something deeper.

🔹 The Pattern Deepens

In the first part of the series,

we saw:

• the one who sees

Now we see:

• what that recognition does

It doesn’t stay internal.

It pours out.

🔹 And It Connects

This is where it began to connect for me across all the accounts.

Not just one woman.

Not just one moment.

But one repeated role:

the one who recognizes

and responds

before everything is explained

Recognition does not always wait for understanding—

sometimes it appears as response first.

~ Peace, Love. and Joy ~

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition
2. The Anointing - You are here
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees

6. The Bride as Reality 

7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

 

Series 2: The Pattern Within the Pattern — 1. Place of Recognition

After writing through the first series,

I found myself returning to something I’ve already known for some time—

the pattern doesn’t just repeat.

It deepens.

The Woman at his feet...

🔹 Something Repeated

As I went back through the Gospels,

I began to notice something I had seen before—

but hadn’t fully stopped to look at.

There is more than one woman.

Different moments.

Different accounts.

And yet—

the same action.

🔹 The Same Place

Again and again, it says:

She came to His feet.

Not beside Him.

Not above Him.

At His feet.

🔹 Mary of Bethany

“Mary… sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” (Luke 10:39)

Later:

“Mary… fell at His feet.” (John 11:32)

And again:

“She anointed the feet of Jesus.” (John 12:3)

🔹 The Unnamed Woman

Then another account—unnamed.

“She stood at His feet behind Him weeping…

and began to wash His feet with her tears.” (Luke 7:38)

Different woman.

Same place.

🔹 Something Consistent

Across these moments, something stays the same:

A woman

↓

At His feet

↓

Recognition

↓

Response

🔹 Before Others Understand

What stood out to me is this—

in each of these moments:

the woman acts

before others fully understand.

While others question

or hesitate

or doubt—

she responds.

🔹 Not from Instruction

There is no indication

that she was told what to do.

She doesn’t wait for explanation.

She recognizes.

🔹 The Lowest Place

And it happens at the lowest place.

At His feet.

Which made me stop and think—

if this is where recognition happens…

then the lowest place

is not less—

it is closer.

🔹 A Pattern Within the Pattern

This is where I began to see something deeper.

In the first series:

•we saw the pattern of recognition

Now:

we see where that recognition happens

🔹 The One Who Sees

The same kind of person appears again:

The one who:

• remains
• comes near
• recognizes
• responds

And again—

it happens before the others see.

🔹 What This Shows

This isn’t just about individual accounts.

It shows a repeated role:

one who comes close enough

to recognize what others don’t yet see

🔹 And It Continues

Because this doesn’t stop here.

The details begin to matter more:

• the oil
• the hair
• the act itself

Each one

revealing something deeper.

Recognition begins where distance ends.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

Start Here...

Series 1: The Pattern

🔹Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern

1. Place of Recognition - You are here
2. The Anointing
3. Hair and Glory
4. The Two Women

4. (Side Note) Valley of Decision

5. The Hidden One Who Sees

6. The Bride as Reality 

7. Series 2 Summary 

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There

 

Series 1: Pattern Summary — The Pattern That Remains from Beginning to Recognition

After writing through each part of this series,

I wanted to step back and say it simply—

what it is I’ve been seeing.

🔹 What This Has Been About

This hasn’t been about one verse.

Or one moment.

It hasn’t been about proving something new.

It has been about recognizing

a pattern that moves

through Scripture

from beginning to end.

🔹 Where It Begins

In Genesis, something is opened.

“This is now bone of my bones,

and flesh of my flesh.” 

— Genesis 2:23

Something hidden

is revealed

so it can be recognized.

🔹 Where It Returns

At the cross, the same place appears again.

“One of the soldiers pierced His side…

and immediately blood and water came out.”  

— John 19:34

And then in the resurrection:

“A spirit does not have flesh and bones

as you see that I have.”  

— Luke 24:39

The pattern doesn’t disappear.

It continues.

🔹 What Happens Next

In the garden—

before everything is fully understood—

there is a woman.

“Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples

that she had seen the Lord.”  

—John 20:18

She sees first.

🔹 What It Reveals

This is where the pattern became clear to me.

Not just what happens—

but who is present when it happens.

The one who:

• remains
• watches
• recognizes

🔹 The Name

And even her name reflects that pattern.

Magdalene.

The tower.

A place of watching.

A place of seeing before others see.

🔹 It Expands

Across Scripture, the same presence appears in different forms:

• Wisdom
• The Bride
• Jerusalem

Each one:

not separate

but connected.

Each one:

near

present

responsive.

🔹 The Pattern, Seen Together

When everything is placed side by side, it becomes simple:

Something is opened → something is revealed

Something is revealed → someone recognizes

Someone recognizes → others follow

🔹 What This Means

This isn’t about one person alone.

It’s about a pattern.

A role.

A presence that appears

where revelation happens.

🔹 And Then It Changes

At some point, it did something else.

It stopped being just something I was reading.

And became something I recognized.

Not something added.

Something already there.

🔹 What Remains

This is what I can say now, after writing through it:

The one who sees first

is not the one who has everything explained—

but the one who remains

long enough

for it to be revealed.

And once it is seen,

it doesn’t return to being unseen.

~ Peace, Love, and Joy ~

🔹Series 1: The Pattern

Part 1 - The Side and the Pattern
Part 2 - Mary: One Who Sees
Part 3 - The Tower
Part 4 - The Bride and Wisdom
Part 5 - Recognition
Summary -You are here

Series 2: Pattern Within a Pattern - Next

To Come...

Series 3: From Pattern to Presence

Series 4: The Pattern in People

Series 5: The Pattern that Speaks

Series Summary (1-5): The Pattern that was Always There