Pam’s musings ... on knowing God better

Our home group this week had been a bit flat, bogged down in the length of Paul’s sentences and the complexity of his writing. Then one of our members re-read this sentence – slowly, excitedly: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.” The whole group came to life as we caught the excitement, the reality of what God was saying to us in that moment. (And the next verse is fantastic also.)To know God better. I’ve been privileged in the last three years to do a course in Spiritual Direction with an ecumenical group called “Dayspring”. It’s based on a contemplative model, the sort of thing that has a great tradition in the Roman Catholic church, that involves silence and meditation, a waiting on God. There were eighteen months of monthly meetings, three residential weeks, a great deal of putting my inner self, my way of working out there to be scrutinized by others. Much of the work was practical – we operated in threes, being either the director, directee or observer. It wasn’t role-play – we offered our real selves, real issues; and at the end of each session there was an assessment from all involved, including a supervisor. Encouragement and gentleness were the essence, but ouch, who wants to be known like that! We were required also to write a thesis on some project that we developed.Perhaps there’s a progression – being vulnerable and open to others allows me to be open and vulnerable to myself, to knock down a few of the defences - and then to be open to God. I’ve gained two things from the course. The first is a gift for me - a new way of being in God’s presence. The second is that I’ve qualified as a spiritual director and am working with people in this contemplative model. “Director” is a misnomer – it’s not about telling people what to do, but inviting them to bring their selves to God and explore where he might be leading them.I meet with a directee once a month, initially for 4 – 6 sessions. At this stage I’m not able to take on great numbers of people and already am nearly at quota – but if after prayer this seems it would be right for you, then contact me.Yours in the business of knowing God better ......Pam