From a Word from Becky, my monthly newsletter to my readers
Dear friends,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend celebrating Pentecost Sunday!
As a spiritual director, I ponder in wonder at awe at the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. What a gift Jesus gave us by asking for The Great Advocate to come and be with us always! The ministry of spiritual direction is anchored in listening for the movement of the Holy Spirit in the person across from me. There are a few powerful things I witness the Holy Spirit doing in us.
Reminding Us We Are Not Alone:
Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit at the Last Supper. He told his disciple “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14: 18). The Holy Spirit comes to us repeatedly. Not only does the Spirit come to us, but the Spirit abides within us.
Unsticking Us:
Yesterday’s Gospel shows Jesus coming through a locked door to appear to the disciples. The Holy Spirit labors to break through the locked doors of our hearts and in our lives. I am a witness to profound, awe-inspiring, take your breath away moments every week where the Holy Spirit enters people’s locked spaces of their hearts and in concrete realities of their lives. The Holy Spirit “unsticks” us and moves us from the inability to forgive to being empowered to offer forgiveness, from all doors feeling shut for finding work or a way out of a tough financial situation to a moment that suddenly feels like the parting of the Red Sea and an opportunity appears, from the inability to see a way forward to the path becomes clear. And on and on. The Holy Spirit unlocks, unleashes, and unburdens us.
Offering us the Iteration of the Spirit We Need in that Moment:
Jesus breathes on the disciples who are huddled in the locked room and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. In that moment, those disciples received the Holy Spirit in the way they each needed. The same is true for us. The Holy Spirit comes to us in the way we need the Spirit to come. We are offered the grace or the gift we need. The Holy Spirit will never be out done in offering us comfort, consolation, or one of the fruits or gifts of the Holy Spirit to us. We will always receive the promised Advocate in our lives offering us exactly what we need in the moment we need it.
Sending Us Forth:
After Jesus breathes on his disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit, he sends them forth. The Holy Spirit comes to us to fill us, to renew us, to unstick us, and to remind us we are not alone. These graces and gifts are offered to us so that we may be empowered to step forward and offer what we received to others. The way the Holy Spirit sends us forward is unbelievably unique and personal. It is a sign of intimacy because the Holy Spirit knows us so well that we are sent to the places of our lives that most need our gifts. It might be offering a healing presence to a suffering friend or teaching a young person how to read or helping someone think through a complex situation. It might be in offering the most mundane concrete expressions of love such as folding laundry, cooking a meal, bringing out the trash, making a bed, offering a hug or a high-five.
Pentecost in so many ways happens again and again in our lives. We realize how much we need the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit always comes to us. Always. This week I invite us to notice the ways the Holy Spirit makes God’s presence known to us. When you catch the wonder of the coming of the Spirit in your life, pause and tell God thank you.
This summer our in-person retreat will focus on the coming of the Holy Spirit through the grace we seek and naming the desires of our heart. If you have not registered yet, I encourage you to do so. We have around ten rooms left before the house is completely filled. It would be a great joy to be with you in person! There is nothing I enjoy more than meeting one of our community members!
Know of my prayers for you!
Peace,
Becky
Photo by Casey Horner for Unsplash
Becky Eldredge
May 29, 2023