"Opening Your Heart to Guidance"-- thoughts and reflection from reading Macrina Wiederkehr on this topic

I sat down yesterday afternoon with Macrina Wiederkehr's Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God and started where I had left off.  Chapter 7: "Opening Your Heart to Guidance".  Oooh... that sounds good.  The Scripture reading was Psalm 25 and the opening instructions: "Prayerfully read Psalm 25." 

As I have gotten accustomed to doing this, I put down the book and looked for a Bible to read the Psalm.  But, before I read the Psalm, I thought I would peek at the devotional.  This is what I read: "Before immersing yourself in the words of this meditation, obey the words above."  OUCH!  I was caught!  Not only was I supposed to obey the instructions, but there was also this I needed to obey: "Unbar your heart and simply wait for God.  There is so much grace in waiting."  Unbar my heart.  That's a powerful statement that says quite a bit and assumes quite a bit.  However, if I am honest with myself, my heart does somehow grow bars around it from time to time... bars of protection.  And, that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Yet, when coming before God, Creator, those bars need to be gone.  And then I need to prepare to simply wait.  I'm not so sure that "simply" and "wait" should go together.  Waiting is not so simple.  Yet, there is definitely grace in the waiting.

So, as I accepted my gentle reprimand, I went to Psalm 25 and read.  The verses that spoke to me most yesterday were 1a, 4-5, 9, 16-18, 19-20.  Depending on what version is read, the word "hope" is used instead of "wait".  They both have a feel for expectation, but the focus on the devotion was the waiting aspect.

When I finished reading the Psalm slowly and prayerfully, I went back to the meditation and read it.  Here are the parts that stood out to me from Macrina's words:

• "We tend to live rather distracted lives; thus the inner turning toward the soul is an excellent spiritual practice." (81)
• "If we desire to move into a deeper relationship with God, it is essential that we live with unguarded hearts." (81)
• "Psalm 25 is a prayer for guidance." (81)
• "Openness! Readiness!  Patience! Spend a little time reflecting on those qualities in your life." (81)

Then Macrina offers these questions to aid in that reflection:

• "How do you experience being open to guidance?"
• "Who are your teachers on the spiritual path?"
• "How is this readiness to go deeper into God's ways visible in the way you live?"
• "How do you feel about waiting for God to make known the paths you should walk?" 
• "How do you feel about waiting for anything?"

There is quite a bit to chew on here.  This might take a while. ☺ 

Continuing on with Macrina's words that captured my attention:

• "In order to go deeper into our interior life and be molded by the Source of all life, it is important that we learn the art of creative waiting." (81)
• "Creative waiting is a deep listening that is at the heart of all discernment." (81)

What caught my attention from these words/phrases/sentences and why do they resonate within my soul?  My desire is to continue moving into a deeper relationship with God and waiting has been part of the ebb and flow of my life's experience for several years now.  Listening and discernment are areas in which I desire growth. 

Macrina suggests that the foes/enemies in verse 19 of Psalm 25 could be considered to be "interior blocks to spiritual growth." (82)  This is a great way to reflect on this.  What stunts/blocks/hinders my growth?   Your growth?  If we can name it, we can begin to deal with it.   This is part of the deepening process.

As with every meditation, Macrina ends with a beautiful prayer.  I'm not going to include it this time (I don't want to give you everything in the book!), but I will include a Psalm Prayer from the Upper Room Worshipbook that I looked up yesterday.

It is #249 and is adapted by Judy Holloway.  Copyright 2006. Upper Room Books.

Psalm Prayer (Ps. 25)

 

O God, in you there is shelter and comfort.

Lead us in your truth and teach us your ways.

Your path is steady and sure.

Be our companion, our protector, and our deliverer.  Amen.

I don't know if Psalm 25, the portions from Macrina Wiederkehr's meditation, or the Psalm Prayer will speak to you or not.  I don't know where you are on the journey.  I only know that each of these spoke to me and I wanted to share.

Blessings on your journey.... May there be grace in the waiting!

Debra