by Lynn Willis,
Spiritual Director

God is in the present. The risen Christ is in this time and this place. Ironically, while God is in the present, very often we are not. We are a country of do-ers, not be-ers. Sociologists and anthropologists who study culture have found that the USA is the country that values doing the most. So from a very young age we learn to plan what we are going to do and to evaluate what we have done. It is very difficult to take time to be with God because it looks like we aren’t doing anything. What we call Spiritual Practices give us ways to set aside time to just be with God.

LEAD has created a new series of webpages, Tastes of Heaven, dedicated to Spiritual practices. You will find brief histories of a variety of Spiritual practices along with resources to help you experience them for yourself. We will continue to add to Tastes of Heaven and we invite you to share your stories of how you have made these practices part of your own life.

Any practice that slows us down and points us toward God is a form of prayer and Christians over these past 2000 years have cooked up some delicious ways to pray. We hope you will think of Tastes of Heaven as something of a culinary travelogue. It will take you on a journey to explore ways of praying that perhaps you have never tried. It will introduce new ways to slow down, look toward God, be with God, and feel more alive because of it. These practices won’t make God love us more than God already does. But it is possible that they will make us love God a bit more.

Have you wondered what to do on a Labyrinth?  Are you looking for a way to get all the nutrients out of a scripture reading? Would you like an experience that truly celebrates the Good News that God is with us?  We pray that you will find a taste of heaven that is healthy and delicious, and that you make it your own. And that is key. Please adjust to taste — make the experience one that has your own special seasoning so that you find God in every taste.

Bon voyage and bon appetite, or maybe we should say Bon prier (prayer)!

Lynn is a Spiritual Director and newly hatched graduate of the Formation in Direction school (FinD) in Bryan, Texas. She is a member of Spiritual Directors International, a member of Living Word Lutheran Church in Katy TX, and a LEAD volunteer.  Seeing the sacred in all of creation, (even while cleaning up after the dog!) makes life a joyous pilgrimage.