Spiritual friendship is not primarily a social event; something we do to catch up over lunch. I regularly have breakfast with someone who is my spiritual friend. Our early morning conversations don't focus on service projects, self-help ideas, or Bible study questions we both may have. Rather it is a relationship that is focused intentionally on our relationship with God as viewed through the lens of nurturing growth in each other.
Ruth Haley Barton, in her book, Sacred Rhythms speaks about journeying together with a spiritual friend.
"...with such a friend we share the deepest desires of our heat, so that we can support one another in arranging our lives in ways that are congruent with what our hearts want most. Together we reverence the ways God is meeting us in the context of the spiritual practices that help us to seek him."
Being in 'community' is such a crucial element of my spiritual formation. If you have ever experienced this type of friendship, you can understand the blessing it is. To have friends who share a capacity and desire to enter more deeply into the spiritual journey, knowing we should never try to do it alone.
I have had moments in my life when I cried I don't care what anyone else thinks...I can do this all by myself. Thankfully, the Lord has ignored these childlike pleas and inserted spiritual friends to help me walk this life of faith.
One such friend has heard many of my adolescent tirades and outbursts. Over the years, she has listened with love...looking underneath my rants for my desire to follow Jesus. Nurturing and supporting me in seeking a life that is consistent with desires we have talked over many times. Living in community for her and I has always been long distance. Our intimacy has grown through emails, phone conversations, and packages sent through snail mail.
She and I share with each other at the level of our souls. This doesn't mean that we only talk about serious spiritual matters. However, our conversations may start with the everyday, but quickly moves from the surface to the depths. Last week, a forty-five minute conversation with her lifted my heart and head out of a dark fog. All I needed was a 'nudge' and it came wrapped in the conversation with a dear dear friend.
To be continued.....
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