Streams of Grace Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction for all Seeking Connection to the Sacred
Encouragement from the New Testament to persevere. Receive these ancient invitations to endure.
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“Those of you who find yourselves in this predicament need to comfort yourselves. Patiently persevere and do not let yourselves get upset. Trust in God, who does not abandon those who seek him with a simple and righteous heart. He will not neglect to give you what you need for your path until he delivers you into that clear, pure light of love. You are meant to receive this great gift, yet it is only through the dark night of the spirit that he will bring you to it.”
“To be truly humble is to feel a tender acceptance of all reality just as it is, including compassion for ourselves just as we are.”
“The secret essence of the soul that knows the truth is calling out to God…Let me only love you, Beloved. Let me quietly and with unutterable simplicity just love you.”
“The true teachers are often the invisible ones.”
“The dark night descends on a soul only when everything else has failed. When you are stuck spiritually.”
“This is the beginning of the blessedness. When the soul can do nothing but surrender. It has become clear that you are incapable of doing anything on your own to remedy your spiritual brokenness.”
“Unwilling to keep struggling, the soul finds itself surrendering to its deepest inner wound and breathing in the stillness there.”
“In striving to transcend the self, we actually mess it up. The dark night is God’s solution to our solutions, dissolving our best-laid constructions anew into the mystery of grace.”
“Cultivate a simple, loving attention toward the Beloved. That is when the Beloved takes over and all our holy intentions vaporize.”
“It is the Sabbath of the Soul when we heed the call to cease creating and remember that we were created.”
“In the silence, Divine Reality secretly reveals Itself to a consciousness cleared of the ongoing chatter of the false self.”
“In the dark night of each soul, we are simultaneously annihilated and immeasurably strengthened.”
“To step naked into the garden where the Beloved is waiting. The closer to home with God, the more ferocious the resistance of the fragmented self.”
“All we can do is surrender to the darkness and take humble refuge in the ineffable stillness of the soul’s spiritual meltdown.”
“God is teaching her in a secret way now, a way in which the faculties of sense and reason cannot interfere.”
“The dark night is about being fully present in the tender, wounded emptiness of our own souls.”
(Excerpts from St. John of the Cross-Dark Night of the Soul, translation by Mirabai Starr.)
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)
Learning to wait. Waiting is an art. The people who are most successful at living and loving are those who can learn to wait well. Today I would make myself crazy trying to accomplish what will come naturally and with ease later. I can trust that all is on schedule. Trust that I do have a life to live while I am waiting. Live it. Learn how to wait. Focus on the power that is available to me by learning to wait well.
Waiting. When it is time, I will know. I will feel empowered in a way that I do not today. Waiting is necessary to get what I want. I am learning timing.
Timing. Everything comes at its appointed time. Timing is perfect.
When the time is right. Clarity will come. The next step will present itself. Indecision, inactivity and lack of direction will not last forever. Clarity will come of its own accord.
Letting Go of Timing. I am being prepared. Good things will happen when the time is right, and they will happen naturally.
In-Between. Be willing to sit with my hands empty while I wait for God to fill them. Not fun, but may be necessary. It will not last forever. May feel like standing still, but I am not. I am standing at the in-between place. It is how I get from here to there. It is not the destination. But it is part of the journey. I am moving forward even when I am in-between. Where I am is the ideal place for me to be right now.
Patience. Good things are planned for me. I will receive them at the first available moment. I will have all that my heart longs for. What I want and need is coming to me. It is on its way; closer with each day.
Surrender. There is a plan and place for me. The Lord will open up and make a special place for me, with all that I need provided. It is good. I accept the power that is mine to receive.
Acceptance. Master the lessons of my present circumstances. I have a valuable lesson to learn before I may move forward. Acceptance is not avoidance.
Clarity & Direction. I am right where I need to be. Though this place feels awkward and uncomfortable. I am being changed, healed and transformed. Good things are being prepared for me. I can wait for clear direction. Clarity will come.
Divinely led. I am being divinely led. I will know when to go, to stop, to wait.
Recognizing Choices. I have more choices than I let myself see.
Experiment. Try something new. Try stepping out. Now is the time. Learn from mis-takes. Begin to test the water.
Take Risks. I cannot afford to keep myself paralyzed. Do not always wait for a guarantee. Begin taking healthy risks.
Going with the Flow. Let go of the branch at the riverside. Let myself be moved forward. Let the flow help me set boundaries, make decisions and get me where I need to be when it is time.
Letting go of the fear of abandonment. Things are being worked out as quickly as possible for my highest good.
Letting go of what I want. I often can have what I really want and need, or something better. Letting go is part of what I do to get it. Letting go of parts of my current situation.
Good things coming. The answer will come. The direction will come. The path will open itself to me. For it has already been planned. It is already here. I already possess it. It is in place. I just cannot see it yet. The good that I need will find its way to me. When the time is right. Either through my leadings or the leadings of others.
Just around the river bend. “We all must pay a price. To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing. What’s around the river bend. Waiting just around the river bend. I look once more just around the river bend. Beyond the shore where the gulls fly free. Don’t know what for what I dream the day might send. Just around the river bend for me, coming for me.”
References:
“Just around the River Bend, Pocahontas.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZrg3hhntQY
“While I’m Waiting” by John Waller. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518ipIfM8qI
“The Language of Letting Go.” Melody Beattie. https://www.amazon.com/Language-Letting-Meditations-Codependents-Meditation/dp/0894866370/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519848348&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=%E2%80%9CThe+Language+of+Letting+Go.%E2%80%9D+Melody+Beattie
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