Spiritual Direction: The Gift of Coming Home
For the past couple of decades, I’ve been engaged in spiritual direction in one way or another. It’s a faith practice that I anticipate I will continue in for the remainder of my life. The reasons for that are many, but here are three ways that spiritual direction feels so much like a gift of coming home to my own soul.
The gift of listening… What is it I’m listening for in spiritual direction? I’m listening for the voice of God, to my own heart, to the whispered invitations, to what is being said, and to what isn’t being said. Listening sounds so simple, but it’s not a gift that is frequently offered by the world where we are bombarded by a million other voices of persuasion and expectation that leave us feeling more depleted rather than whole. But deep listening experienced in spiritual direction offers quiet presence, and a contemplative posture of yielding and receiving.
A good director doesn’t race to respond to what I’m saying, to make a point, or to counter an opinion. Listening never interrupts the flow of a thought but lets it run its course. And in the gift of being heard by another for an entire hour, I somehow feel restored, made complete. That’s not saying my spiritual director fixed my problem or gave me the answers to where I am and where God it. It’s just that the talking and listening allows me to embrace where I am, who I am, as I am at the time.
The gift of belonging… Spiritual direction invites me to come home and connect more deeply to God, to myself, and to others in my life. It encourages connection of my entire being, body, mind, and spirit, to the greater realities of Divine presence at work in my life. Because I tend to live in my head most of the time. my director often asks me where I am experiencing an emotion, a new truth, or a new calling in my body. And this brings me closer to understanding how my entire being is responding to the movement of the Spirit. I’m able to welcome myself more completely and offer myself more wholly to God and others.
The gift of meditation - I’m not talking about the mind-emptying kind of meditation, but the meditation that Mary, the mother of Jesus did when she “pondered these things and treasured them in her heart. Meeting monthly with a spiritual director gives me a natural rhythm of reflecting and pondering my life since the last meeting with my director. I typically explore two paths of pondering or meditating to prepare myself for my session. First, I use my journal to look back over recent days and weeks noticing themes or a particular remembrance that resonates more strongly with me. And then I meditate on how I come to my session physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually on that particular day.
Want to dig in a little deeper to the Divine invitations to listen, belong and ponder your own life? Here are three things you can do::
Consider purchasing and reading my new book from Upper Room Books titled, Sacred Conversation: Exploring the Seven Gifts of Spiritual Direction.
Or if you’re ready to jump in and experience the gifts of spiritual direction first-hand, I’d welcome the opportunity to sit with you as your director. Just send me an email at marsha@marshacrockett.org
Explore the Frequently Asked Questions about spiritual direction.
