Hey Storied family!
This is our FIFTH week discussing spiritual formation— namely trying to answer the question: how do you build a faith and authentic spiritual practises after deconstruction?
Pretty sure it goes without saying by now, but we’ll just say it anyway, that we’re not positioning ourselves as experts in this. We’re very much still figuring it out alongside you, but really hope to create a safe and non-judgemental environment where we can share our experiences and individual journeys.
This week we’re talking about all things SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this topic.
Hope your weekend is off to a good start!
Gabby + Chris
Do You Need A Spiritual Director?
By Gabby Llewellyn
“I just want someone else to CARE about my faith!” I waved my hands out in front of me dramatically.
(Spoiler: I’m usually a little dramatic most of the time.)
Chris has heard me say this many times throughout our marriage, but it’s because it’s TRUE.
While there are many things I probably wouldn’t redo that were a part of my spiritual expression from my college years, I do regularly find myself missing the discipleship/mentor relationships that I was a part of during that time.
At the height of my involvement in my campus ministry, my school calendar was punctuated by a plethora of coffee dates with people. In these discipleship meetings, I’d either pour my heart out to someone older than me and ask for advice, or I’d listen to someone else pour their heart out to me. We’d chat, offer advice, prayer, practical solutions, look up Bible verses and read books together.
While I wouldn’t necessarily give out the same advice these days that I doled out then (some of my most cringe memories include answering theological questions with a degree of certainty I haven’t experienced since!), I do find myself really missing that intentional space of connecting with another human over spiritual matters.
It’s not therapy.
It’s not just a coffee date.
It wasn’t even really mentorship.
It was a specific time and space where I was allowed to take up all the room to process my life through a spiritual lens. To ask questions about God, to hear from Her through the voice of a friend, or the stillness when we prayed together.
When I graduated from university, I felt the lack of these coffee dates like a huge, gaping hole in my life.