Come as you are
A five month long "Journey
" came to an end for sixteen participants last Thursday - with a time of celebration and sharing, and including Communion. One of the themes that came up again and again in the sharing of 'gifts' was the deeper knowledge of self that surfaced during this "Journey". Many said the small groups and one to one meetings were 'safe places' to share their lives - to name and claim the reality of themselves, as blessed and broken persons very much loved by God. I believe we do desire to 'know' ourselves deep down but seldom have the courage to face the darker areas - and so live life only claiming the sunny side. Here, in the spiritual formation process, participants felt safe enough to be real with themselves and with others. Hence the growth in coming to terms with every part of their lives, and in that way to present themselves to God, as the 'real' person they are. Very often, our relationship with God suffers because we dare not come to him - in the rawness of our humanity. We even wear some (maybe religious) masks when we approach him. I have been greatly blessed by the opportunity to accompany those in my group in this process of self discovery - and God discovery. It is always a privilege and honor to listen with others for the Spirit's movement in their lives.
" came to an end for sixteen participants last Thursday - with a time of celebration and sharing, and including Communion. One of the themes that came up again and again in the sharing of 'gifts' was the deeper knowledge of self that surfaced during this "Journey". Many said the small groups and one to one meetings were 'safe places' to share their lives - to name and claim the reality of themselves, as blessed and broken persons very much loved by God. I believe we do desire to 'know' ourselves deep down but seldom have the courage to face the darker areas - and so live life only claiming the sunny side. Here, in the spiritual formation process, participants felt safe enough to be real with themselves and with others. Hence the growth in coming to terms with every part of their lives, and in that way to present themselves to God, as the 'real' person they are. Very often, our relationship with God suffers because we dare not come to him - in the rawness of our humanity. We even wear some (maybe religious) masks when we approach him. I have been greatly blessed by the opportunity to accompany those in my group in this process of self discovery - and God discovery. It is always a privilege and honor to listen with others for the Spirit's movement in their lives. "Come as you are" - might be the constant theme in all our journeys. Come as you are so that God can touch and heal the brokenness, and he can begin to shape, mould and remould the clay into vessels pleasing to him.
Most of us know the saying that the longest distance is 'from head to heart' - and I would add that another long journey is that of coming to graced self knowledge (seeing myself as God sees me). Such journeys are undertaken not without some resistance on our part, but ultimately, we know this is what we are here for.
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