Many of you know that I have a rare condition known as alliteritus. I feel the sickening need to alliterate whenever possible. I've thought about counseling, hypnosis, inner healing prayer...but then again...perhaps it's just my "thorn of the flesh."
Seriously, though...I was just blogging on Xanga which is where I connect more with students in our youth ministry. Here's what I was saying in that blog-arena...
"I have another question...selfishly motivated a bit...but worth considering I think. What are the ways in which we most deeply connect with God...the Divine...the Creator...Heavenly Father...the Spirit...the Son...etc? I would certainly be the first to admit that in the pursuit of connectedness with God...some days (weeks, months, even years) are better than others.
Lately, I tend to really connect with God in a variety of ways. Cycling for a few strenuous hours seems to position me to really converse with God and reflect on life. Just sitting back on this sweet couch in my office with a hot cup of sumatra seems to provide a God-friendly moment. Chasing my daughter around the tennis net while Deb and I try recreate nostalgic courtship moments (pun alert) gives me this sense of wholeness and purpose. Watching a room full of students authentically worship God around the glow of candle light...that definitely connects me with my creator.
The problem is...we tend to unplug ourselves from God as much as we plug into Him creating this frustrating cycle of sporadic spiritual spin...argh! (that's an old comic book word) So back to my question...what are the ways in which you deeply connect with God and stay connected?"
And I have a tendency to deal with the same issues personally as I'm processing them in the context of ministry (with students or others). One of the greatest challenges of ministry in the context of speaking and teaching others is what I would call internalization. In order to passionately communicate a truth or principle to someone else, I have to own it...believe it...consume it...and live it. So I'm wrestling with this issue of deeply connecting with God. I wholeheartedly believe in the power of spiritual disciplines and contemplative practices for positioning us to encounter God...but there's also a bit of mystery in it. I hesitate to give anyone the idea that you can follow these 5 steps and presto...intimacy with God.
Anyone have some different thoughts on this thought of deeply connecting with God and helping others do the same?
2 comments:
My mentor, Rick Ryding, has always had a spiritual guide. In Columbus, he and his wife met with three Franciscan sisters once a month for dinner, prayer, and spiritual guidance. I don't have any personal experience here (I'd like to), but I would imagine this would be a viable way of connecting deeply with God.
Nice pun.
BT
Simply a writer's comment.
I suffer from the alliteritus syndrome too.
Result of reading too much early Anglo-Saxon poetry.
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