pat loughery

My friend Jen Lemen has this little doozy today:

Pay attention to what you’re drawn to. What you’re drawn to is the map.

– Jen Gray

This hits me right between the eyes today. As I’m finishing up a paper for my Doctor of Ministry class, long footnotes and bibligraphy and all, and aiming toward what’s next, I still have doubts and questions of “so what?”. Not really frustration, as I trust that God is leading me on this voyage in the coracle, or the canoe or raft if that works better for you, but the future is still hazy.

So .. I understand the suburban landscape better than I did two years ago. So I have a much broader global perspective now.

So .. I’m deeply drawn to the rhythms of monasticism and new monasticism, but I like living in my own home.

So .. I’ve never before found structure in the form of vows and religious orders attractive, and yet this past year or more, I find myself seeking just the right dispersed community to enter into and am deeply concerned with commitment, stability, and devotion to a long journey of spiritual formation.

So .. I’m practicing, more and more, the tried and true prayer forms of lectio divina, centering prayer, meditation, reading and praying ancient written prayers, memorizing the Psalms, participating in call-and-response group prayers.

And so – I’m so deeply impacted by Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount that I find my foundations loosening, shifting, and becoming more anchored all at the same time.

What next?

Pay attention to what you’re drawn to. What you’re drawn to is the map.

– Jen Gray