Our Spiritual Journeys

My contemplative friends tell me that the secret to the spiritual life is to see God in the ordinary. In fact, Delores Leckey in her book 7 Essentials for the Spiritual Journey considers "discovering the sacred in the ordinary" one of the seven essentials for our journeys. But if you're like me, more often than not, I discover the sacred more in the extraordinary than in the ordinary. Rarely have I had spiritual breakthroughs when driving my daughters to lessons or vacuuming out my car. I will say that mowing the grass has been good communion time with God. There is something about the hum of the lawn mower and monotony of walking in circles around the yard that allows my mind to wander.

No, my experiences of God have been through profound moments, good and bad. I have experienced the palpable presence of God at funerals, a few weddings, retreat weekends, and, frequently, during weekend church services. I have also experienced God in the death of my grandmother, birth of my daughters, at a various moments with my wife, Cile, in the 27 years I have known her. My spiritual journey has high water marks in the extraordinary moments.

As I think about spiritual journeys, I am reminded of Abram and his call to leave Haran where he and his father had lived. God simply said, "Go," and Abram went (Gen 12:1-4). Amazing. In a moment told without elaboration as to the details of where he was or how he heard God, Abram heard God and responded with obedience. That is a man keenly aware of the spiritual nature of existence. He would rather be with God in an unknown place than in the safety of the familiar where God did not want him to be.

This morning in church I spoke of our spiritual journeys being either toward God or away from God. Abram's journey, indeed his life, was toward God. Abram's faith is commemorated nearly 2,000 years after his death by the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament who spoke of his obedience to go to Canaan as God asked, to become the father of Isaac, and to offer Isaac as a sacrifice when God tested him (Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19). Not only did this reveal Abram's faith; it also revealed his view of life. Life is a journey lived with God. Life is a spiritual journey.

I guess today the reality of our spiritual journeys is particularly meaningful to consider for two reasons. First, this morning we heard from 14 year-old Ashley, child of our church whose family I love. She shared some from her journey in the form of a poem. Ashley's teacher asked her to write an "I am" poem. Ashley thought about this and concluded that her life in Christ is the highest expression of who she is. The spiritual nature of her human nature matters more than anything else. So she wrote and turned in to her public school teacher the following poem.

I Am

I am a follower and believer in God
I wonder about the kingdom of heaven
I hear the whisper of his love speaking in my heart
I see the hand of the Lord God Almighty reaching out to me
I want to see his magnificent face
I am a follower and believer in God

I pretend preaching to huge crowds
I feel the Holy Spirit fill my heart with compassion
I touch the hearts of the wounded
I worry about the people who need him
I cry for those who don’t know him
I am follower and believer in God

I understand God’s Holy Word
I say Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven and Earth, the Messiah
I dream about the throne of which he sits and commands
I try to speak Gods word those who hear
I hope that the world will turn to him and give him praise
I am a follower and believer in God.

Again, amazing. Fourteen years old and she understands life at a depth some 80 year-olds don't. She got a spontaneous standing ovation at the first service this morning. She understands the spiritual nature of existence.

The second reason this notion of journey impacts me today is because my daughter Christina journeyed back to college today after spring break. She's been home for the past 10 days. It has been great. But now she has gone. It is the painful season of life for Cile and me--our daughters are steadily progressing toward adulthood and our house is getting quieter and quieter. This too is part of the journey. The pattern of life is that one generation tells of God to the next (Psalm 145:4). Cile and I have been doing that in our own home for 18 years and now we hope that pattern is internalized by our own flesh and blood and, in time, they will pass it on as well.

All of this is to say that this life is all about God. Life is an intensely spiritual experience. I hope our "holy conversations" begin with that affirmation.