Spiritual Direction

I came to spiritual direction myself by way of a faith crisis, walking through the darkest places alongside someone that trusted the light when I couldn’t. I had to take apart so many pieces of my understanding of what life with God even was in that process, deconstructing and—over time—reconstructing my faith. Along the way, I had to leave some spaces that were spiritually constricting, and have spent a lot of time in the wilderness with God (and fellow wanderers).

One of the ways God opened me up to new ways of being—with God and with my own self—was through creativity. I grew up believing (and even saying) I didn’t “have a creative bone in my body.” I believed that somehow “being creative” was just not for me. I loved to draw and discover when I was a young child, but put that away as I moved forward into a career of Registered Nursing (which I did for about a decade before staying home with my two boys full time when they were young). But in my twenties, I suddenly discovered this long-neglected side of me, and found that it led me into freedom—not only in the art itself, but also spiritually. There were so many possibilities I had never explored, and God invited me into exploring them all! Ever since then, my creativity and my spiritual life have often gone hand-in-hand—stretching and opening each other when one was stuck or shutting down. Now, I love to incorporate creativity and art into spiritual practices—both my own, and with others!

One of my favorite creative ways to pray is through Found Poetry (and you may catch me offering workshops around how to create your own, in addition to sharing some of the words I’ve found to be life-giving and freeing along the way, in different spaces!).

I love the rhythms of the liturgical year, and I love messy humans in all their glory. Sitting with folks on the way is one of the great joys of my life. And I am currently taking new directees, if you are interested in exploring what spiritual direction might look like, and seeing if we are a good fit in your particular story and season. You can email me at jamie@anamcara.com or go straight to my booking site here.

 Peace to you today, whatever it holds.