Spiritual Direction in Everyday Life
My busy morning included grocery shopping rather than tidying up the house. Before putting all the groceries away, I decided to prep the vegetables I had purchased for roasting. I was just finishing up assembling two cookie sheets of veggies coated with olive oil and balsamic vinegar when the doorbell rang.
A sweet spiritual direction “directee” awaited, journal in hand. “Oh, my, I exclaimed rather surprised and embarrassed, “I had us scheduled for next week.” She graciously offered to return, but I told her if she didn’t mind a bit of environmental chaos and my lack of preparation, we could meet.
I like the definition George Fox Seminary gives for Spiritual Direction as “a relationship between a person seeking a more Christ-like life and another who serves as a listening companion to the journey of growing deeper in their relationship with God ...."
I have spent almost three years in a rigorous program of spiritual direction training and almost five years working with a spiritual director, or “soul friend,” which is my preferred name for spiritual director. The process has been powerful, and while I know I have grown immensely, the more I grow, the more I realize how full of me I can be and how very far away I am from the perfect character of Jesus. That, I hope, is a sign of growing humility. It also adds an element of challenge to the journey of spiritual formation into a character that more accurately reflects Jesus.
How does one grow into greater Christlikeness? According to Rev. Dr. Steve Macchia, author of The Discerning Life, this happens as one discovers how to “practice a preference for God” in all of our everyday life.”
Spiritual formation is a journey—a process I’m convinced will continue until I draw my final earthly breath.
Despite the scheduling snafu and lack of usual preparation, my “soul friend” and I spent a wonderful hour exploring ways God is speaking to and leading her. Later, she sent an email telling me how special the time had been. I responded that I believed our appointment had been scheduled by the Holy Spirit.
This experience reminds me how I long to grow into cultivating a “preference for God” in the seemingly mundane, surprising, or even chaotic moments of everyday life.
If you are interested in exploring the practice of spiritual direction, please reach out to me at sue.reeve.cda@gmail.com or a Facebook private message.
Blessings to you,
