Meet Gwen Pickering, Spiritual Director

Meet Gwen Pickering, Spiritual Director

Meet Gwen Pickering, Spiritual Director

 

Take a moment and imagine meeting someone new.  They are interested in getting to know you.  “Tell me about yourself,” they ask gently.  What do you say?

I recently joined an online group of Spiritual Directors and needed to answer that question.  I said, “I am Gwen Pickering from Eden Prairie, MN, I am a spiritual director with ADHD, a big heart, deep love for God…”

Everything I said was true on one level. But on another level, it was not at all who I am.  I am not my name, what I do, what I think, what I have done, or any of the things I wrote down.  

The “capital T” Truth about who I am is that I am a Spirit.

I love the quote by Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.  We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Our ego says we are what we have, we are what we do, we are what other people think of us, and we are separate from God.

To me, spiritual direction is a journey in which we are able to drop those ego thoughts and reclaim the Truth about who we are.  I am so honored to walk with people on this holy path of letting go of the things that were so limiting, in exchange for a life that is filled with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23.)

We are doomed to live a small, “stuck” life when we believe in our ego.  When we embrace the Truth, we can live the expansive and free lives we are called to live. And we are free to fall deeply in love with the God who is, in Truth, One with us.

Lately, I have been thinking of the small t “truth” and the capital T truth and I came across these words by Henry Nouwen that I am excited to share with you.

You and I are each

THE BELOVED DAUGHTER OR SON OF GOD

no matter what we do or don’t do

 

WE ARE NOT WHAT WE DO,

no matter what people say about us

good or bad

 

WE ARE NOT WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT US,

no matter what we have

or

don’t have

 

WE ARE NOT WHAT WE HAVE

We must hear this and remind ourselves of this so our mood does not

depend on what we are experiencing at the moment.

 

We must hear and remind ourselves of this so we do not depend totally

upon others around us

to meet our needs.

We can get at best, a hint of Divine Love from those people we are with.

If we claim the “First Love” from the Voice that calls us the Beloved

By continually reminding ourselves that we are

 

THE BELOVED DAUGHTER OR SON OF GOD

we will be able to forgive those who Love us poorly,

we will be Free to Love other people without expecting them to give us

all that our heart desires

 

WE CAN GET THAT ONLY FROM GOD.

-Henri Nouwen

Learn more about Gwen through her website.