The Beauty of Withness
Hey! I’m Sarah Portal and welcome to The Beautiful Withness! Sometimes existing words are not enough to convey the magnitude of an idea. So sometimes we have to make one up. Withness is the word I use to describe the presence of love with you that is wholehearted and unchanging in its constancy. It is different from ‘presence’ in that one can be present in body and yet absent in spirit and heart. This kind of love sees. It is a love that is always with you. This is the love that I believe is the very essence of Jesus and therefore as followers of Jesus the love that we get to embody and share with one another.
FInDING THE HEALING BEAUTY IN MOMENTS OF GRIEF
What exactly is Withness?
explaining withness to children
With Me Always
With Me Always, written by Sarah J Portal and Illustrated by Jake Waldron, is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about a little girl who finds God when she is scared and lost – essentially explaining the concept of The Beautiful Withness to children.
Children will love the story. The book offers children the opportunity of seeing God in their experiences and realizing that God is always with them.
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Through the words on this blog, I explore and share what I have learned about love, loss, grief, trauma, and ultimately resilience. It is my dream to create a space for growth and learning together through discovering what healing looks like in the face of suffering. My greatest desire is for you as you interact with these words, you discover how deeply loved you are, and how that love has never left your side. Through this love , you will be able to bring the fullness of love to others who find themselves in the darkness of pain.
This is the love that I call The Beautiful Withness.
Latest writing and poetry
My name is Giovanni Ryno Mally born in Manenberg the youngest of four siblings I was raised by my mom. Dad had his own thing going. He was a gang member of high rank in the number gang.
When I was younger, watching Ed, Edd, and Eddy on Cartoon Network, I was struck by a line flippantly delivered by Eddy: “You know what they say, a little childhood trauma builds character.” I figured that it was okay; whatever I was going through would make me interesting with a wicked sense of humour. And while that was true, looking back over my life, I have seen the ugly underside of that pearl of cartoon wisdom.
I first heard Sarah's theology of ‘The Beautiful Withness’ earlier this summer. A week later, fascist riots broke out across my nation. My immediate thought was, “Here we go” bracing as if for physical impact, though miles away from the violence at the time.
My name is Vincynthia and I come from Atlantis in the Western Cape of South Africa. I now live in Manenberg with my five children and husband. Looking back over past memories of what was, I get a glimpse of experiencing a withness that I later in life named uMoya – meaning wind or spirit in Xhosa and Zulu.
My name is Sikelelwa. I am writing from the Eastern Cape where I grew up. I was fortunate that my grandparents from both sides of my family raised us up in the Lord. I was born in a world where we did not ask if God existed but as children we debated what God was like.
We are entering into the Christmas season, preparing for the celebrating and remembering of the arrival of Jesus into the world, Emmanuel, God with us. Learning the person of Jesus who is Emmanuel, has really been the story of my life and so as my way of honouring this God who is with us, I want to remember Him and share some of my story with you.