Pete likes to ask the question: what are you afraid of? from one scaredy cat to another! that is, he to me! anyway, today I asked him: what brave thing did you do today? I made a call yesterday to a woman I hardly know to propose an idea that would involve her... it was brave of me! I had this idea to form a small group of women interested in sharing their stories and looking for God in the midst of those stories.. I guess it's sorta like group spiritual direction. My belief is that when people tell their stories they are better able to see God in their lives. The benefit of that is: God is dying to love us.. and sometimes it is easy for us to miss it! I've found myself speaking about things and hearing myself say out loud what has happened I suddenly realize , omigosh, look what love God poured out on me!! and I didn't recognize it til this very moment. Then, the tears come and the gulp, and I know: that is God. Atleast for some, this is a helpful tool... telling ones story and unearthing the pearls in the middle of it all. One of the critical elements of this kind of spiritual direction is that those who are listening.. are only listening. They are not advising, commenting, applauding, criticizing. They hold the story teller and her story with love... only then can the still small voice be heard in the midst of the life revealed. I'll be paying attention to the promptings of that voice in the next while.. and see what makes it way through the noise. (writing this blog serves a similar purpose for me... so thanks for listening, oh so quietly. Wink.)
2 comments:
So did she say yes? To the storytelling group? How do you choose your members?
She said she's interested in the fall when her youngest starts school. She and I agreed we'd keep our eyes and minds open to what develops between now and then. I'll keep you posted!
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