Two Essential Human Longings

While everyone’s spiritual journey is different and every soul has a unique shape, there are two longings I consistently hear when I listen with others.

First, there is a longing for connection with God, however we name and understand that Holy, Wholly Other. People have often experienced moments when they felt close to God, when they knew themselves to be seen, held, and loved by a force greater than themselves, when they experienced an undeniable grace or “peace that passes understanding,” or when they felt a summons to some new direction or vocation. And they want to live in a more habitual awareness of that Presence and Movement in their lives. They are looking for ways to connect more intentionally and regularly, to stay grounded in and nourished by Source.

People may call this prayer, meditation or spiritual practice. But the longing is for a deeper, more expansive understanding and experience than speaking certain words to, or even making requests of God. We tire of a transactional approach to prayer and desire transformation. We sense at some deep level that we are made for communion with God, and we hunger for an ever deepening connection. But we may not know how to cultivate that. Or we may get so overwhelmed by the endless array of ways to pray or spiritual wisdom to read that we don’t know where to start. Or we just have trouble in the whirlwind of our daily lives sustaining a regular practice of prayer.

This connects with the second longing I hear regularly . . the hunger for spiritual community. We long to be with other seekers on this quest for Connection. We hunger for places where we can explore and reveal the depths of who we are. Where we can ask the huge questions that don’t have easy answers. Where we can express our deepest longings and fears, and share stories, practices and resources for tuning in. Where we can learn from each other, affirm and encourage one another, recognizing that we are both on our own journey, and not alone. In the words of Parker Palmer, we can be “alone together,” “a community of solitudes,”and experience a deep sense of belonging, to God and to one another. AND the gentle accountability provided by being in such a group often helps us sustain a prayer practice, when we know we're not just on our own.

One would hope that churches would provide this kind of community and form us in the way of prayer. But I've sat with too many people who have sadly not found the church to be so welcoming or generative. But the longing for sacred space and a place of belonging persists, even when we lose faith in the institutional church.

These two things--authentic prayer and spiritual community-- have absolutely transformed my life. And out of my own hunger, and subsequent nourishment, I have wanted to nourish others in these ways, first in my role as a pastor and now as a spiritual director.

And the hunger has never felt more intense. Now more than ever, when the ground beneath our feet feels like it’s shifting every day, we long to be rooted in the Unchanging Ground of our Being. Now more than ever, when we feel the limits of our own power and control, we need to draw strength and sustenance from a Source beyond ourselves. Now more than ever, when we’re realizing the failure of toxic individualism, we long for Beloved Community with a different Center than me and mine. Right now, spirituality doesn’t feel like a nice hobby to consider when we’ve done our real life and work; it is the core of who we really are and what is needed to live in these desperate times.

I believe these times call for more prayer and community to sustain us. So new this season, I am introducing Flow: Spiritual Rhythms for Spiritual Living. Whether you already have a regular prayer practice or don’t know where to start, whether you are here in Atlanta or elsewhere, whether you have a faith community you call home or have struggled to find your people or place, I hope Flow will meet you where you are and provide a way to begin or deepen your experience of both prayer and community. Out of a menu of spiritual practices and community gatherings, you’re invited to find spiritual nourishment for your own hungry soul. We’re officially beginning our practice of daily prayer tomorrow, September 1, but feel free to join the Flow whenever you want by reaching out to me, or subscribing through my website.

One way or another, I hope you find the sustenance to support you in your own spiritual journey.

Blessings,

Kimberly