How did you discover Spiritual Direction?

Thoughts from Christos Tending the Holy alum and spiritual director Vonda Rankin. More about Vonda …

My journey toward spiritual direction and contemplative practice required curiosity and, especially, God’s gracious opening of doors.  It included moving beyond the bounds of a faith tradition which, from childhood, had held this deeper stream of Christianity with uncertainty and some suspicion.

In my 30s, by God’s grace, I experienced an inner shift that began to draw me deeper in God through environments that offered contemplative prayer.  Early in these years of discovery, separate conversations with three newer acquaintances pointed to Christos Center for future exploration.

In my 40s, a two year spiritual formation opportunity led by spiritual directors prompted me to pursue my own spiritual director.  Over time, I began to connect earlier conversations about Christos with a budding sense of desire to companion others in the ways I had been so blessed to experience spiritual direction for myself.

“If you’ve sensed God’s calling toward receiving spiritual direction, or training in spiritual direction, may God gently and lovingly guide you in the unique ways God has for you.”

My final nudge into pursuing training as a spiritual director required God’s special intervention as my 30s and 40s had brought my husband and me into parenting two children with unique and significant needs.  I had formed an inner narrative that perhaps, in my 60s, care-taking might ease enough for me to finally, reasonably, pursue training at Christos.  However, God’s sweetest and best invitations are, it seems, often centered on love rather than reason.  Through a friend’s encouragement to challenge my delaying inner narrative, God opened Christos to me more than a decade earlier than I had thought possible.

These years of offering spiritual direction, facilitating new learners at Christos, teaching contemplative practices, and now training in professional Enneagram coaching have been more rich and full than I can put words to.  A continuous sense of gratitude for God’s goodness, leading and abundance marks this season of life.

If you’ve sensed God’s calling toward receiving spiritual direction, or training in spiritual direction, may God gently and lovingly guide you in the unique ways God has for you.  What joy if this story is a small part of that for even one soul!