Dear Friend,
It is a privilege to be your spiritual companion on your journey towards intimacy with God, the heart’s true home. Our bond is our shared brokenness and trust in our spiritual director-the Holy Spirit. This is your time. I hope you will feel unhurried and safe.
During our time together we will listen for the One who holds the map. I’ll be your field guide pointing out areas for possible exploration. There will be times I recognize where you are from my own journey. At other times we will explore new territory together and lean on our faithful director.1 Because God is with you always in an active and interactive relationship with you, discerning your next steps happens as we explore where God is, even in the most unexpected places of your life.
I depend on God to inspire my questions. Usually, the answer to what you are feeling, seeing and hearing help to situate you, to reveal where you are, and to show how God could be inviting you home. We will need to make space to reflect in silence. The key to getting home will always be listening first. The Holy Spirit will lead by bringing to mind places in your life where he has been speaking.2
Although our sessions may help you gain awareness of God in your life, your insight will be further advanced if you regularly make arrangements to listen to God by yourself. In solitude and silence any number of practices like Bible study, fasting, and different kinds of prayers position you to pay attention to God who has been attentive to you all along. Let the Spirit guide you in your choice of practices. These practices for deeper listening become like a trellis upon which the Holy Spirit moves to transform you and direct your path towards home.
Finally, I am so happy you have come for spiritual direction. I look forward to learning more about God and growing in my own intimacy with God as we explore how he is working in your life in many ordinary and unexpected places.
Your companion on the way,
Carmen Fleming
The Art and Practice of Spiritual Companionship
Spiritual direction (spiritual companionship) is a powerful means by which people may be brought into the presence of God and be transformed by the experience. When both the director and the directee commit to a relationship of spiritual companionship in a safe and non-judgmental environment to seek more of God’s agenda and God’s will in their lives than their own, there is an inherent appreciation and experiencing of the grace of God.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Art and Practice of Spiritual Companionship or are looking for a spiritual director, please contact the Odyssey in Christ ministry at office@odysseyinChrist.com.
1 Teresa Blythe, Spiritual Direction 101
2 Ibid.