Reflections on the book by Noel Forlini Burt--Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away

I finished this smallish, thinnish book about a week ago. It has 85 pages of reading, plus a bibliography. Don't let the amount of pages fool you into thinking it's thin on content. It's not. It's powerfully packed in those pages. 

I read it in preparation for an upcoming 4 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation in October. Though I had looked at and printed out the brochure, it didn't register in my brain that the author is one of the faculty for the week. When I realized that, I was even more grateful that I was able to sign up for this Academy experience. 

Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away by Noel Forlini Burt is an honest, open look into the wilderness journey. The author shares her personal experiences throughout the book, along with references from Scripture and other writers. She shares her Academy experience from Camp Sumatanga. 

I can relate to the Two Year Academy for Spiritual Formation experience, as it was a life changing experience for me. My Academy experience was in FL and I finished it 11 years ago in 2013. Oh, how time flies. Each session was like "going home" as I headed there in my "rolling sanctuary". Each session worked in me in so many ways. I am still reaping the benefits for the time sown into my life those two years of Academy #32, the bilingual academy.

Being able to relate to the ebb and flow of "going home" was just one connecting point with the author. She taught at a University. I understand that too. I taught for 24 years, mostly at the higher education level.  Our experiences are different, but there are some similarities. She left home (Alabama) to go teach in Texas. I got to come closer to home (Georgia) when I moved to Tennessee to teach at a small liberal arts college from Long Island, NY. 

Noel had my attention from the introduction of her book. She quoted Thomas Merton early on and his prayer of unknowing. That prayer was and is an ongoing prayer for me, a mantra you might say. I used it in my paperwork for commissioning and ordination and in my interviews. You see, it has been hard for me to know, to see where I am going along this pathway of life. I haven't understood much of it. So, Merton's words have resonated with me -- "I have no idea where I am going."  But he goes on to say that he trusts the one leading him. That has been my experience. So, when Noel quoted Merton, I knew I was in for a good read.

Noel repeats phrases throughout the book that resonate and begin to sink in.

•  "In the struggle is the formation."
• "God is the Great Silence."
• "it came out of nowhere, as grace often does."
• "The wilderness is the Way Home."

In addition to these nuggets, there are many more nuggets that I have underlined and marked in the book. I may or may not get around to noting all of these at some point. Maybe I will get to a few of them.

I started thinking about all the wilderness experiences I have been though over the years and made a list. They include loss of loved ones, loss of relationships in other forms, physical ailments, loss of dreams, changes in situations, transitions. It comes down to transitions. Most of my wilderness experiences have been transitions and liminal spaces, the unknown. Hmmmm.

These experiences for me have helped me find myself, my true self, along the path. During the season of the Covid-19 pandemic, I spent lots of time outdoors, in the woods or in my hammock. That was a wilderness of leadership, relationships, being. Yet, I (with many others), found ways through it to create new paths, new ways-- to lead, to be in relationship, to be. There were several times when I could tell I was going through a transitional metamorphosis. Having that time to "be", to reflect, to do things differently, to see things differently, etc., was a powerful time for growth and creativity... even though there was unknown and wilderness.

This book has helped me realize and see that "the wilderness is the Way Home", that "God is the Great Silence", that "in the struggle is the formation", and that "it [grace] came out of nowhere, as grace often does."

One quote that resonates in this moment: "There is a truth that only the soul can tell, but that truth will emerge only when the soul is ready to tell it. [...] We trust that in the waiting, new life is unfolding." (54)

I am looing forward to going back through the book to read it again, to read my highlighted sections, to ponder and reflect more. I am also looking forward to meeting the author, Noel Forlini Burt, in October.

Whatever your wilderness experiences have been or are, may you find hope in them.

Deep peace and grace on the journey, 

Deb